What You'll Do For the One You Love
by bugreid
Summary: A bunch of songfics from different artists.
1. Speak Now

_**Hey guys! My friend and I wrote this one day and she asked me to put it on here and see what you guys think about it! This story is really long and we apologize for that! So make us happy, and tell us what you think, please! **_

**What You'll Do For The Bride**

My hands were sweating. My heart was pounding. I felt sick to my stomach. I was blinking more than normal. And my breathing was short then fast.

Nerves. I was freaking out.

Leaning over the sink in the bathroom of the tall, white church. Where the love of my life was about to be married to another man.

Could I do this? I can't just start ranting about how.. I object? ….But, I can't let this happen. This can't happen. If it does, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.

Not like I will, if I go through with it.

I looked up, at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a black tux with a black tie. It was itchy… Too itchy. I really hated these penguin suits. If it were up to me, I would've worn something more comfortable to this wedding. Not like I wanted to be here in the first place. But, in order to be a best friend, you must come to each other's weddings. Even if you're madly in love with the other. Back to my appearance. I hated these suits, yes. My hair was in its usual style, but slightly damp from the sweat. It was unusually warm in this church, even though my blood ran cold. My face was pale. I quickly adjusted my tie, so I could breathe more easily.

Why she going through with this, I don't know. He set this up. Knowing it would hurt to see her married off to another man. Knowing I'd be in so much pain, that I couldn't take it. Couldn't bare it.

Sometimes I wonder if she knew.. Knew that her soon-to-be-husband loathed me. Would gladly push me down a well, and leave me to drown.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and leaned my hands on the edge of the sink. Deciding on whether to throw up or not. If I did throw up, my face would drain even more. I'd look terrible. And I was here to leave an impression. To try one last time.

To get Natara Williams to realize what she's getting herself into.

I was going for dramatic, desperate guy here. Even if I felt like it. I was going for determined, in love guy, who didn't want to give up the one he loved to some guy who'd marry her for her father's money or rather sit in his office and work all day than to spend time with her or help raise her children.

I couldn't picture her having children with anyone but me. The thought made me want to throw up all over again.

I looked at myself in the mirror with disgust. I was supposed to be some bad-ass cop, who wasn't afraid of anything, but instead I looked like some… lovesick puppy. Ken was right. I AM a lovesick puppy.

"Ken, help me. What should I do? Should I tell her how I feel or should I just let her be with the one she loves?" I whispered.

I looked up, hoping to see some kind of sign from Ken about what I should do. But all I saw was the white, cracked ceiling of the bathroom.

There was a knock on the door. My heart beat sped up even faster. I glanced up one last time, and whispered, "Help me."

I looked down at the mirror. I looked fine. Good enough to sit through or crash a wedding. My nerves didn't do much but make me sweat a little.

I opened the door to reveal Amy, wearing a lacey, lavender dress. She had a knowing look in her eyes, which meant she knew I was in love with the bride.

"Mal, there you are.. They're about to start." She has a sad look in her eyes. Something told me she knew the next hour was going to be remembered. One way or the other.

It didn't even surprise me that she came here, even though she's disappeared for months. All I can think about is what I'm going to do.

I walked past her, without looking in her eyes. I couldn't though, not without convincing myself that this was wrong. That I shouldn't have even come, because this was a mistake. Natara invited me. Why wouldn't she, considering we've been best friends for almost 2 years. Something told me that Oscar had planned to invite me also. Not to be friendly, though. I bet he just couldn't wait to watch me suffer. Couldn't wait to watch the man who was desperately in love with his bride-to-be; have his heart ripped out, slowly and painfully once those two words were uttered.

Amy grabbed my arm, and twisted me around to face her.

"Mal, I know you didn't want to come but-"

"It's fine. I'm fine. Let's get this wedding over with," I clenched my jaw and smiled fakely, hoping she would buy it.

The expression on her face told me that she didn't.

"Mal, I'm so sorry. I know this must be hard on you. I know how you feel about her.."

I smiled sadly at her.

"Come on, they're about to start," I walked past her. Yes, I'm aware of how I was being unnecessarily rude. But, I'm a man in love, who's about to see her be given away to some other guy. I have the right to be rude right now.

We made our way to the auditorium, and instead of going in, I froze. Right down the hall, I saw a door with a sign over it that said, '_Bride's room.'_

I sucked in a breath and turned back to Amy.

"I'll be there in a minute, okay? I've got to do something first.."

She smiled sadly at me, then walked into the auditorium.

I gathered up all my courage, and walked down the hall, in front of her room.

I breathed in deeply, before pushing the door open.

I was met by a few girly shrieks.

"What the-"

"Get out! Get out! The groom is not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!" one bridesmaid shrieked at me, attempting to push me out the door. Three other bridesmaids came to join her, hitting me with several bouquets.

"Ow, ow! Stop! Those things have needles in them! I'm not the groom!" I exclaimed, but they wouldn't listen, still pushing me back.

"Get out! It's unlucky for you to see her right now!"

"Eeeee! Out, out!" They all shrieked.

"For the love of God, I'm not the groom! Natara! Tell them I'm not Oscar! I look nothing like him!" I exclaimed to her, even though I couldn't see her.

"False alarm, guys. He's a friend," came a smooth voice.

She stepped out of the small, built-in, bathroom, with hands on her hips.

My eyes widened and my heart sped up at the sight of her. Her hair was up, exactly like when she was the pretending to be the princess of Ildonia in the royal wedding. The one that we crashed together. Not her and Oscar. Her dress was strapless and pure white, with small beads on the torso area and at the bottom of the dress. Light makeup on, with a white necklace and matching earrings. I was speechless.

"Oh, sorry," they muttered, before going back to fixing their hair and stuff.

"Um, girls, can you leave us alone for a few minutes?" she asked, politely.

The bridesmaids mumbled something, before turning, and walking out the door.

"Got yourself quite the ninja bridesmaids," I joked.

She let out a chuckle before enveloping me in a hug.

I stood in shock for a split second before wrapping my arms around her waist, and hugging her back.

"I'm so glad you could make it. I don't know what I'd do if my best friend wasn't at my own wedding," she mumbled into my ear.

"Of course I'd come to your wedding. That'd be awful of me if I didn't." My face arranged into sadness at the thought of what was about to take place. I put on a fake smile as she pulled away.

"So, how do I look?" she stepped back, and did a little twirl.

My eyes widened, and my heart stopped.

"You look… Uh," I cleared my throat, "Good. You look fine," Fake smile on again.

"Oh, just good? Do you think he'll like it? Do I look ugly? I'm so nervous. What if I trip on my dress while coming out? What if everyone laughs at me? What if I forget my flowers?"

"Nat, don't fret. Calm down. You look beautiful. Don't be nervous. You've practiced enough times walking down the aisle and you haven't tripped once. You'll be okay."

Her shoulders untensed a little.

"Thanks Mal. You always know just what to say.."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and led her to sit down on the small, cream-colored sofa. I took her small hands in mine and looked down at them. Here goes nothing…

"Nat, I wanted to tell you something…"

"What is it?"

"I… Uh, I.. Well you see, I…I wanted to tell you… that I,uh,-"

'_Oh, c'mon Mal! Be a man! Just spit it out!' _

"Nat, I wanted to tell you that I-"

"NATARA! C'MON! YOU'RE WEDDING IS ABOUT TO START!" I heard Neha yell from outside the door.

Lovely, Neha. Great timing, really…

"Hold on just a minute!" she exclaimed back, then looked at me again.

"You were saying…?"

"Oh yeah. What was I saying..? Oh! Right, Nat.. I wanted to tell you that I'm-"

'-_in love with you. Come on Mal! Grow a pair! Just say it!'_

I looked up into her soft, hazel eyes and my heart melted.

"Happy for you." I smiled sadly at her. I couldn't do it. I couldn't ruin her perfect day like that.

"Oh.. Well, thanks," she put on a little smile.

"C'mon. We've got a wedding to go to," I took her hand in mine and helped her up.

"Could you..?" she said, smiling shyly, and holding up the veil attached to a small tiara.

"Oh, of course." I gently took the tiara out of her hands, and took a step closer.

Gently, as if she would break any moment, I placed it on her head, making sure as not to mess up her hair. I took the veil and put it behind her head, so I could see her for the last few moments of her being unmarried.

"You ready?" I whispered, still standing close to her.

"Yeah, I think so," she whispered back, looking into my eyes.

We held each other's gazes for a few moments longer before I gave a small smile, kissed her on the temple, and whispered in her hair, "Goodbye Nat," before I turned and quickly walked out of the room, leaving her standing there, speechless.

That goodbye had a double meaning. It was like I was saying goodbye, even though I would see her again in a few minutes, but it also stood for me telling my chances with her goodbye. Now I would never have a chance with her.. Unless I crashed another wedding.

I quickly walked back into the auditorium, spotted Amy talking to Kai, Blaise, and Jeremy on the brides' side, and went to sit down beside her.

"Malligator! What's up, my homie? Can you believe that Agent Hottie is finally getting married?! I can't believe it! I think I'm gonna cry. Although, I always pictured you and Boom Bottie getting hitched. I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever would've pictured her with anybody else but you. I can't believe she chose Oscar over you! It's insane!" he blabbered. I glared at him coldly, while Amy gave him a look that clearly said, 'Shut up!' Obviously, he didn't get the memo because he kept on talking.

"Are you going to object? That would be so cool! I can just picture you standing up and telling Natara that you love her and she can't be with Oscar or you'll kill yourself right now. That'd kind of be like in _The Notebook_! Oh my gosh! This is like a love story just waiting to happen! Love story, interrupting weddings… You've been listening to Taylor Swift haven't you? Oh, this is just like her song, _Speak Now_! You're going to interrupt the wedding right? If you do, I wonder if we'll still get to eat the cake..When you do, you better watch out for Oscar, cause he might punch you in the face. But I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. You could take that pip-squeak any day. Speak of the pip-squeakish devil and he shall come. He's walking this way!" he rambled, pointing at an approaching Oscar.

'_Oh God, not now.'_

"Hello, Amy." He nodded at her. "Kai," Another nod. "Blaise. Jeremy." "Mal," he said coldly.

"Oscar.." we all said.

"Glad you could make it," he smiled warmly at Amy and completely ignored Kai and me.

"Thanks! I'm kind of shocked that I'm here though! I've always rooted for Natara and M-" Kai started but Amy clamped a hand over his mouth.

"What he means to say is he's glad to be here," she smiled fakely at him. After giving Kai and me one last stony glare, he turned and walked away.

"Rawr!" Kai growled at his back.

"Gosh, I hate that guy!" Blaise exclaimed. Amy, Kai, Jeremy, and I nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the music started playing. And so began the rest of my sad, lonely life.

I watched glumly as bridesmaid after bridesmaid came strolling out on the groomsmen's arms, smiling brightly.

Then came the death, err- wedding march. Amy patted my arm, comfortingly, as we all stood up. I tried not to look as she came in the doorway but I couldn't help myself. I looked up and met her hazel eyes. Even though I saw her a few minutes ago, I still couldn't help the gasp that left my mouth as I looked at her. She looked even more beautiful with the veil over her face.

She stood on Raj's arm with the most played smile I've ever seen. No one noticed except me. I've known her long enough to recognize all of her expressions. She should be disappointed. She wanted a June ceremony. It was September. She wanted an outdoor reception. We were standing in a small church. She wanted a horse-drawn carriage. All I saw out there was several cars. She wanted lilies. I saw piles of daisies and roses.

Right, when I looked at her, I knew what I was going to do. And as soon as I locked eyes with her, I knew I was doing this for a good reason.

I knew without a doubt my eyes were full of hurt and sadness. The price you pay when you fall in love with your best friend, who's in love with someone else. Now was time for a determined look. Not a scared little boy look. Which I knew was on my face.

Natara seemed to be looking at me, rather than her groom-to-be, who was glaring at me jealously. I didn't even pay any attention to him, though. My eyes were locked on her.

What I was doing… crashing a wedding. But, I was going to do this right. Wait for the preacher to say, 'Speak now, or forever hold your peace.' Not jump in the middle of the aisle, while she's walking and kiss her. Even though a part of me, actually wanted to do so.

People were going to look at me differently from now on. Instead of "That's Detective Mal Fallon, the guy who caught the Mask Maker and tons of other bad guys!" they'll say "Oh, him? That's Mal Fallon. He interrupted his best friend's wedding and got rejected in front of everybody. Some people say that she literally broke his heart and he could never love again." Or, if I was lucky, "That's Mal Fallon! He crashed his partner's wedding and told her that he loved her. She ran off with him, leaving poor Oscar Santos crying at the altar." They were already looking at me now. Probably wondering why in the heck I was here… and how I was taking it. Watching all this.

I held my breath as she passed. I literally stopped breathing. She looked me directly in my sad, hurt eyes and as she passed me, she looked behind her shoulder at me, one last time, before looking forward at Oscar. She had to keep looking forward, so she wouldn't look at me, I knew that. She was trying to look at him, Oscar.

I fidgeted nervously with my hands, fire in my eyes. This wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to marry him. She was supposed to marry me.

She reached the end of the aisle, and her father kissed her cheek, and laid her hand in Oscar's. Oscar grinned, and quickly glanced back at me. I furrowed my eyebrows. How is this gonna go? I scream 'No?' 'Stop?' 'Wait?' 'I object?' 'Don't marry that sorry SOB because I love you?'

I really never thought this through. Just the idea of getting her back was all that seemed to cross my mind.

They stood facing each other, the priest, a tall, balding man with a Bible open in his hands began talking aloud. "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here in the sign of God and in the face of this company to join together, this man and this woman in holy matrimony-"

The 'Speak Now' part was coming up…. I'd been to a wedding before. Hell, I've been a groom in a wedding before! Oh crap.. What do I say? My heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to be sick again. Maybe this was a bad idea… I can't take this!

"-which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore-is not by any- to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly-"

It was coming up. My moment…If I even went through with it. I was beginning to have second thoughts. This was going to humiliate me. But, she's worth it.

"_Is saving Natara Williams really worth spending the rest of your life in jail?"  
"No.. She's worth more than that.."_

"_She's worth __**everything**__."_

I blinked, having a small flashback of when I told that to the mayor. When I was willing to kill the most important man in the whole city of San Francisco for her to live. Series of flashbacks came running into my mind.

"_Look at you. You're like a puppy, sitting by the door, waiting for his owner to come back."  
"I am not a puppy."_

"_I'm happy for you."_

"_I'd say it's a date, partner."_

"_Did you know that you're number 2 on the pretty little Agent's speed dial? You two must be very close…"_

"_I'm just happy that I have a partner that I can depend on."_

"_The church will not hold you to today's wedding vows."_

"_I wanted it to be romantic. I wanted it to be the best moment of our lives."_

"_Are you insinuating some sort of inappropriate behavior between Detective Fallon and myself?"_

"'_Your gut?' You stealing lines from me, Williams?"_

"_You're a big softie."_

"_I believe in them. I believe in Mal."_

"_I've gone a little bit pyscho for love in my day."_

"_You've been too busy following your gut… Instead of your heart."_

"_Hey! Lay off her. She's trying to solve your case.."_

"_God, he killed a man for you… Or at least he pretended to kill a man for you. How can a guy like me compete with that kind of devotion?"_

"_I am __not __leaving her down there, Blaise! If that means risking my life, so be it!"_

"-but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and solemnly." The priest's words were almost to the point of fading in the background. I could barely understand what he was saying, through all the flashbacks, my heart pumping in my ears, and staring the girl who was having a hard time trying to keep eye contact with her guy.

"_What I couldn't accept, what I could never accept is if I lost you. Natara, what I'm trying to say is that I.."_

"_Gunshots? Do we know who's shot? Is Natara okay?!"_

"_I mean the way you talk about her, the tone in your voice… I know what those signals mean."_

"_But it turns out you and Fallon are absolutely right for each other."_

"_I'm glad I have you in my life, Mal."_

"_You're too much of a coward to even tell her how you feel."_

"_Your daughter's the very best I've ever worked with."_

"_MAL!"_

"_NATARA!"_

"_I figure that if you want something, you have to go for it. Because if you don't, it might get away from you."_

"_Have you told her you love her?"_

"_The Princess has asked you keep the wedding gown as a gift, for the day that you two really do need it."_

"_I know that we're absolutely perfect for each other, but circumstances have conspired to keep us apart."  
"Would it hurt knowing you never even tried to make it work?"_

"_Natara is great, really great, but we're partners, and we shouldn't be more than that."_

"_I'll be watching her back, Mr. Mansingh. Always."_

"_Every time she looks at you… She'll see this. I.. win."_

"_It should be with someone you love. Someone you want to spend the rest of your life with."_

"_It's Chinese takeout!"_

"_And the right man for my daughter."  
"You mean…As a partner right?"_

"_How's our chemistry?"  
"Light. Playful. Banter-y."_

"_Mal, I've been meaning to tell you. ….Oscar and I are engaged."_

"_I knew you'd come for me."  
"Of course I did. I'm your partner."_

"_So you arrested Dwitz without the help of your knight in shining armor."_

"_I do trust you Mal. You know that."_

"_We've got each other."_

"_I keep expecting your sarcastic remarks, but after I say something smart, Ken just looks at me like I'm a nosy librarian."_

"Into this holy estate these two persons now come to be joined." And here it is. Can't back out now….last chance to get her back.

"_I love you."_

"_I dare you to kiss Natara!"_

"_If they'd been honest about their relationship and their feelings for each other… None of this would have happened."_

"_Wow… Natara you look just… Just…"_

"_I figure you two can share the bed, because, you know, comical sexual tension…"_

"_Just looking out for you, Natara."_

"_Oh, I see. Single then. Perhaps you should sing for her sometime, Malachi?"_

"_Is there something going on between you and Detective Fallon?"  
"Mal and I spend nearly every hour of every day together. We depend on each other in life or death situations. But if you're asking if we've ever been more than that…?"_

"_Sometimes there are circumstances that keep you apart from the one you love… But that doesn't make your love any less pure, any less true…"_

"_Life is short. We need to make every second count."_

"_She's the best partner I've ever had."_

"_Could we save this flirty banter for after you've pulled me out of this crap canal?"_

"_Happy Halloween, Princess Williams."  
"You too, Count Fallon. You too."_

"_Well, Greg's an idiot. He'd be kicking himself today."_

"_We can't wait for our little bundle of joy to come this spring."_

The preacher's words hit me like a train, "If any person shall object these two in marriage-"And then it was like slow motion_. _

"_My! You two are quite the couple…"_

"_Because it does. It matters to me."_

"_Hey! Who said I'd be married to you?"_

"_I've found real love."_

"_You're dying for excuses to hang out with me."_

"_Thanks Mal. You always know just what to say."_

"_I knew you'd make it back okay."  
"That's not what you said five minutes ago. Detective Fallon was totally about to organize a search party."_

"_Hello, my name is Charles Waldencrest, and this is my wife, Claudette."_

"_Are you asking me if I'm in love right now?"_

"_You trust me, right?"  
"…I do."_

"_This is your…Boyfriend?"_

"_I'm Detective Mal Fallon."  
"Special Agent Natara Williams."  
"Can I call you Nat?"  
"You can call me Special Agent Natara Williams."_

"_You reminded me what young love was like."  
"Now, now, you don't have to hide anything. I could tell by the way you talk, the way you laugh together, even the way you argue. You two are proof that there's still real love out there."_

"_I kinda figured you had your eye on someone else."_

"_She worries that she's the kind of person that can't be loved."_

"Speak now or forever hold your peace.." The priest paused for a minute.

"_I love her. I always have."_

It was silent for a moment, as everyone looked around. I saw Natara give a quick glance at me, then back to Oscar. I could see Kai and Amy staring at me, telling me with their eyes to stand up. Blaise nudged me in the arm.

"Stand up, you idiot!" she hiss whispered.

I could just hear Ken screaming down from Heaven, "JUST DO IT MAL!"

What the hell. Who wants to hold their peace for forever anyways?

I slowly stood up, and raised my hand.

"Uh, I do!"

"Oh my God, this is just like my fanfic!" Kai shrieked excitedly.

Oscar's side gasped and started murmuring to each other, while Natara's side burst into cheers.

Natara's mom and sister started cheering and clapping, while her father sat back in his seat, smiling.

"You go Fallon!" I heard someone yell.

"GO MALLIGATOR! YOU GO GET AGENT HOTTIE BOOM BOTTIE!" You can guess who yelled that.

I looked up at Natara to see her staring at me with surprise.

"And why do you object to this marriage?" the preacher asked me.

"Because.. Nat.. I.."

"GO MAL!" someone yelled.

'For the love of God, if I get interrupted one more time while trying to tell her I love her, I will smack someone in the face…with a hammer.'

"Nat, I love you. I love you more than anything in this whole world. Please don't marry Oscar." I could tell Oscar was glaring at me with fire in his eyes, but I didn't dare take my eyes off of her face.

"Guards! Come get him!" Oscar yelled.

'Guards? What the-'

I turned around and for the first time, noticed the security at the door, now coming at me.

"Ah, hell." I mumbled.

The first guard grabbed my arm roughly and pulled.

They must've not have been informed that I'm a trained police detective… I quickly twisted his arm around and pushed him into an empty pew.

Many people screamed, while others were rooting me on. I looked up to see more burly security guys coming at me. I stood on top of an empty pew, and hopped from pew to pew to pew, away from them.

"Nat, ever since I laid eyes on you that day on the pier, I knew that we were meant to be together!" I explained to her, outrunning the guards. Okay, so it wasn't the most romantic thing I imagined, but it's all you can do when you're being chased throughout a church.

People screamed, and got out of my way, once approaching them.

"You can't marry him, Nat! He will never love you the way I do! Please don't say yes! Don't say one single vow!"

One guard came running at me, so I ducked under his arms, turned around, and kicked him in the back, sending him flying forward.

"Don't say I do because I know you don't! You don't want this! You know you don't love him! You-" I dodged a punch coming from the 3rd body guard.

"-can't go through with this! Listen to me, Natara, you don't want this! You don't want to marry him! You want to marry me!"

Dodged one punch, kicked another.

"We've been best friends for 2 years! I know you have to feel something for me! I sure as heck feel something for you!"

I ran up to where she was standing on the altar, shock and surprise written all over her face.

"Please Nat.." I whispered. "I love you." I grabbed her face, and leaned down to kiss her.

Our lips were barely brushing when…. I was jerked back.

"No! Let me go!" I protested, trying to land a hit on the guards, who were pulling me backwards out of the church.

"Let me go! I have to tell her something!" I tried to wriggle and squirm out of their grasp, but they wouldn't let go.

"I think you've said enough.." one told me.

"Stop it! Get off! You can't kick me out of a church! It's sinful!" I yelled.

Realizing that I was about to be to the door, and they weren't letting go anytime soon, I yelled to Natara, "Natara listen to me! Don't do this! You don't want to marry him! He only wants you for your money! Meet me at the back of the church outside! Please! Natara!" I pleaded desperately. Her name was the last thing I got out before I was dragged out the door.

While the 6 men were pulling me out, of course I had to put up a struggle. While I was dragged further away, I kept screaming at them to let me go, pounding against them with my fist.

Then, I broke free.

Thank God, I was a detective and knew how to chase down suspects. That sure did come in handy when you're running away from 6 guards. I ran for the back of the church, praying that she'd be there. Hoping my words had hit her in the heart and she'd changed her mind. That she'd wanted me now, and that she always had.

I was grateful when I realized the men had quit following me and went back inside to deal with the mess that was taking place because of me.

When I got to the back of the church, she wasn't there. I hadn't really expected her to be there, really. But, she hasn't had time to get here. So I paced, biting my lip. Then walked around the huge tree a couple of times, sighing repeatedly. If she doesn't come, then she doesn't come. I should've felt humiliated at what I had done… But I didn't. No regrets...

After what felt like hours, it started out as a light rain, then came the flood. I stood there, in the rain, feeling hopeless and soaked. She wasn't coming. She'd never talk to me again. I knew it. I sighed and looked up.

"Ken, you were telling me to do this, but you knew she wouldn't come… Didn't you?"

I sighed once again, ready to give up and go home.

Just as I took one step, I heard a small voice call out.

"Mal?"

I quickly whipped my head around and saw a figure in a white dress walking towards me.

I flinched at the expression on her face when she neared me. She was not happy.

"Mal..." her voice sounded low and cracked.

I was getting ready to apologize when I told myself that I wasn't going to say I'm sorry for something I wasn't sorry for.

"Look, I didn't-" I stopped. What could I say? 'I didn't mean to?' No, cause I meant to. 'I didn't mean to ruin the best day of your life?' No.. Meant to do that too.

She crossed her arms and looked away.

I began to study her. Her perfect hair from earlier was now down, and sticking to her face. What little makeup she had on earlier was now gone, her mascara running down her eyes. Her perfect white dress was now clinging to her body, and her veil had been discarded somewhere. And yet, she still looked strangely beautiful to me.

My hair was plastered to my face and my clothes were also sticking to me uncomfortably, but all I could do was stare at her.

"You didn't see everyone's faces..." she murmured.

"I don't really care how they all reacted! It had to be done!" I narrowed my eyes at her. I had just embarrassed myself in front of hundreds of people and she's mad at me?!  
"You don't love him, Natara."

"And how do you know that?" she asked, defensively.

"I've been your best friend for 2 years. I know your facial expressions. And when you look at him, I don't see love. Remember at the couple's retreat when I had to convince Gil that I really was in love with you?!"

"Yes, why?!"

"Everything I said that night. It wasn't a ruse. I meant every single word."

"And that gives you a reason to come bursting in on my wedding day? To come in screaming and causing a scene about it? What ever happened to coming and telling me about these things? "

"I tried, but chickened out, okay? I've tried to tell you a thousand times but keep getting interrupted. I tried to tell you in your dressing room, but I couldn't ruin your happiness."

"So you decide to do it in front of everybody?!"

"Well, during that time, when I saw you walking down the aisle, towards another man.. I couldn't take it. I knew that I had to tell you sometime before I couldn't anymore and it was too late."

We were both kind of yelling now.

"So you decide to bring the guards on some hightail chase after you? Just to prove that you love me?!"

"They shouldn't have touched me.." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"To be honest, I didn't actually expect that part to happen. I only hoped that-" I started.

"What? That I would stop in the middle of the wedding, break down, and run away with you?!"

"Well, yes! Why not?! I love you!"

"I was getting married to him, Mal!"

"Why do you want to marry him anyways?!" I stood up taller, looking down at her.

"Because you wouldn't!"

"…What?" I asked.

"I've been waiting and waiting for 2 years for you to tell me that you loved me but you never did, so I thought that you didn't love me!"

Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

My face softened. "You're scared that you're the kind of person that can't be loved. So when the first offer rolled around-"

"I took it. I didn't want to refuse to him, knowing I would never have a chance with you. I figured that I could learn to love him since he already loved me back."

I looked at the ground and furrowed my eyebrows. "So, that's it, isn't it? I'm too late. I get it." I said, walking away, heading home.

"Wait, where are you going?" she shouted over the down pour.

"Home." I replied shortly.

"Don't go..." she whispered, but I still heard her.

I turned around and glared at her.

"Aren't you supposed to be married or something?!"

She walked up to me, close enough that we were almost touching, chest to chest.

She looked at the ground and said, "I didn't get married."

"And why the hell not?!" I exclaimed, my anger increasing.

"You told me not to.."

"And you listened?" My eyes widened.

"Why would I meet you back here if I had gotten married?!"

"Why didn't you get married…? You never answered it truthfully."

She stayed quiet.

"Natara, Why. Didn't. You. Get. Married.?!" I asked slowly.

"Because you can't marry a man when you love another!" she shouted, looking up to meet my eyes.

My eyes widened and I was speechless.

"You know what? This is stupid. You're right, I'm going home," she lifted her dress and started trudging through the rain, to her car.

I stood there for a moment shocked, trying to process what just happened. When it did finally process, my heart stopped.

I was about to lose the love of my life…

I quickly ran to catch up with her. To be in a dress, in the pouring rain, she sure does move fast.

"Nat! Natara! Wait up! Hold on!" I called after her, running.

"I don't want to talk anymore, Mal! Go home!" She replied, behind her shoulder.

I finally caught up to her and grabbed her elbow.

"What do you wa-" Before she could say anymore, I whirled her around facing me, looked into her eyes for a millisecond, grabbed her face, then leaned in and brushed lips with her.

"I love you," I said, right before I brought her in a world-shattering, deep, passionate kiss. My arms immediately went around her waist, bringing her close to me. Her arms wrapped themselves around my neck as she kissed back, just as passionately.

All too soon, I pulled away, let go of her, and started to walk towards home.

"Where are you going now?" she asked in disbelief.

"You told me to go home.." I kept walking.

"You think you can just kiss me then walk away?!"

"…Yes?" I stopped walking but didn't turn around.

"Noone walks away from me. Not even you, Fallon."

This made me turn around. "Huh-?" I barely got out. She ran towards me and right when I turned around, she ran into me.

"There you are again, throwing yourself at me..." I joked.

She chuckled then grabbed my tie, and yanked me down to her level. She leaned in close enough for our lips to be almost touching.

"That kiss was way too short for my liking," she whispered before giving my tie a final yank, and bringing my lips down to hers. Now, this... I didn't complain about.

My arms once again snaked around her waist while she tangled her fingers in my hair. Our lips molded together as we kissed…Over and over again. I have to say... I didn't mind this at all. But I had a slight nagging feeling in the back of my mind.

"Wait, Natara." I tried to pull back, but she captured my lips with hers again. After kissing her for a few more seconds, I pulled back again.

"Nat, wait. Natara. Nat, hold on just a minute, okay?" I asked, pulling away from her, breathing hard.

"You didn't like it did you? It wasn't all you dreamed of..." she said, a hurt look on her face.

"What? No, that was amazing. It was the best damn thing I've ever done. It's everything I've ever dreamed of!" I said, breathless.

"Then what's wrong?"

"It's just... Do you really want to give him up for me? The Dashing DA for.. someone as normal as me?"

"Mal, you're anything but normal. You're sweet, romantic, funny, charming.. Oscar would never crash my wedding even if he loved me as much as you do.. I've been waiting for 2 years for you to tell me this. 2 years Mal. That's a long time to wait for someone to tell you that they love you. But now that that time is here, I couldn't ask for anything better. It was definitely worth the wait."

I stood speechless for a second.

"I love you, Mal."

…..Good enough for me.

In a flash, she was in my arms once again, and I crashed my lips to hers. My neck was starting to hurt from bending over to kiss her, so I tugged on her waist and she instantly, as if reading my mind, hopped up and wrapped her legs around my waist. I put my hands under her thighs, holding her up.

Oh yeah. Much better.. I continued to kiss her and walk, attempting to walk blindly to my car, to get us to a less wet place. Let's just say, walking through the rain, while making out with someone is harder than it looks. I stepped on some mud or something, and we both went crashing down.

"Holy-!" Luckily, (for her), she landed on top of me. I let out a slight groan.

She giggled, and said, "Wow, you're clumsy.."

"Shut up," I growled, bringing her lips back to mine.

So there we were, making out and rolling around in the mud, getting…messy.

I pulled back, breathless.

"I love you Princess."

"I love you too, Choirboy."

We both smiled at the nicknames.

"You know.. we could get married." I suggested, smiling brightly, brushing the wet hair out of her face, and wiping away some of the mud.

"Now why would we do that?" she fought back a smile.

"Because we love each other."

"Amen."

"We do have a church, you know. And you have a wedding dress and I have a tux."

"We don't have a preacher or guests!" her eyes widened.

I raised an eyebrow. "So? You don't have to have all of that stuff to love each other."

She smiled. "You're right."

"And they probably still have food lying out.."

"Mal!" she lightly punched me in the shoulder, while smiling widely.

"You know what? How about for now, we just skip everything and go on to the 'You may kiss the bride part' then we'll do the other stuff later."

"Sounds like a deal, partner."

"And maybe we could do the honeymoon, too, if I feel like it," I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Detective Fallon! You naughty naughty boy!"

"Well, maybe you'll just have to punish me?" I leaned in really close and whispered.

"Maybe I will," she whispered back, before, once again, kissing me.

And for the first time, in my whole, entire, sad, lonely life… I finally felt happy.

_**The end **_

_**Hope you enjoyed! Review please!**_


	2. Best Friend's Brother

_**I know Cynthia is supposed to be older than Mal, but in this story, pretend like she's the same age as Natara, okay? Which is about 31. Okay? Okay. Also, Stay Alive was a movie back then. Pretend please? Also, the words **__like this __**are flashbacks. Hope you don't get confused! Sorry it's so long! Couldn't help myself!**_

_**Summary:**_

_**What if Natara was in love with her best friends brother, Mal Fallon? Will she have the guts to tell him how she feels or will he just remain that... Her best friend's brother?**_

**What You'll Do For Your Best Friend's Brother**

"Quit sulking."

I glanced up, away from my coffee, at the pixie styled, black haired girl in front of me. She was smiling, even though she had just told me I was sulking. "Sulking? …I'm not sulking."

"Then what do you call it?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Thinking."

"Natara-" I interrupted her before she could start back up with this conversation. "What?" I snapped at her. She pretended to frown.

"I don't want to talk about this again. I'm sorry Amy."

"Why not? You know you want to. On the inside, you're like… dying to talk about this." She grinned evilly. I rolled my eyes, but the grin spilled on my face anyways. I did kind of want to talk about it.

This wasn't about the classy-everyday-guy stuff I wanted to talk about. You see, I have one best friend here, Amy, who's sitting in front of me grinning like a Cheshire cat. I can talk to her about this specific issue. But, the other best friend of mine, Cynthia, is the one I can't talk about this to. Because this guy, who Amy and I are talking about, just so happens to by Cynthia's brother. Yes, I have the world's largest crush on my best friend's brother, Mal.

"Did you not just hear me? I said I didn't want to talk about it." I sipped more of my coffee. And continued 'sulking.'

"Come on! You guys have been partners for like, what? A year? Two years? He's like your best friend, too, right? He could like you!"

"But, he doesn't like me, does he? And, even if he did, we wouldn't go out. Cynthia would hate me."

"She wouldn't hate you… Remember when you found out that she was in love with your cousin?" Amy shook her head.

My shoulders slumped, "But she's married now. She doesn't care about that. I can't get with him. Cynthia and I have been friends since-"

"Forever. I know," Amy finished, smiling kindly at me. "But what if he likes you back?" she winked. Which at the same time, I groaned. This wasn't a good thing. When my best friend found out that I was crazily crushing on her brother, she'd never talk to me again. And then, I'd probably never live it up.

"He doesn't… I'm not the type of girl who gets the guy."

"Nobody is." She rolled her eyes. "It's kinda just supposed to happen."

I sighed and leaned back into the booth's seat, letting her continue. "Besides, you're not supposed to base your love life off of… luck. You're just supposed to make it happen."

I made a face, then let out a small chuckled. "I don't think so. I prefer to suffer in silence, thank you."

"Well, then I hope you enjoy spending your life alone. Like I said, don't try to be lucky. Luck wastes time. If you want something, make it happen." And with that, she scooped up her coffee, cellphone, and keys, and walked right out of the café.

"Okay, Dr. Phil." I muttered to no one in particular.

I began to think back on the first day I had ever met Mal Fallon.

_***FLASHBACK***_

_It was a very chilly day in November. _

_I was 11 in the sixth grade. He was 13 and in the 8__th__ grade. I had been best friends with Cynthia Fallon ever since I had moved to San Francisco in August. We'd met just before school started because then, I had lived right down the street from her house._

_I never imagined it would be the very day that I first met my crush for the next 20 years._

_One Friday after school, she invited me to a sleepover over at her house. My father had dropped me off early, since he had a business meeting that he had to go to. Cynthia and I immediately ran upstairs to paint our nails. After we were done, we headed downstairs. That was when I met the love of my life._

_He was sitting in the kitchen, eating a sandwich and joking with I guessed one of his friends that he invited over._

_He had long, brown hair that went to his eyebrows and bright blue eyes. He glanced over at Cynthia and then locked eyes with me. _

_I knew instantly that I was in love._

"_Who is she?" he nodded over at me, talking to Cynthia._

"_My best friend! Tonight, you and Jared better leave us alone!"_

"_No problem," he smiled, mouth full of sandwich._

_She looked at him expectantly, like any 11 year old would._

"_What?" he asked._

"_Well, don't be rude!" she gestured to me with her eyes._

_He rolled his eyes. "No."_

"_Mom said not to be rude to our guests!" she huffed._

"_Ugh." He looked at me. "I'm Mal, Cynthia's brother."_

"_Natara." I blushed slightly, hoping that he wouldn't notice._

_He smiled at little, obviously noticing my blush. "Can I call you Nat?"_

"_You can call me-"_

"_No you can't call her that! I call her that!" Cynthia stuck her tongue out at her older brother, then began pushing me towards her bedroom._

"_C'mon Nat, let's go talk about boys."_

"_Bye Mal." I gave him a little wave, as I was being pushed upstairs._

"_See ya."_

_Later, that night, Cynthia and I were flipping through channels on the TV in her living room. Mal and Jared were in his room, doing typical 13 year old boy stuff. Probably seeing who could spit into the trashcan from the farthest distance._

"_Ooh. Let's watch this movie!" Cynthia exclaimed, stopping on a channel finally._

"_Stave Alive__? I dunno, Cindy. It sounds kind of scary.."_

"_Oh c'mon, Nat! I'm sure it won't be that scary!"_

_40 minutes later our eyes were glued to the screen, wide with fear. Neither of us had the guts to change it though._

_It was the part where Swink was about to be run over by the crazy pale lady with the horse carriage. He had just tripped and landed in the rosebushes. Cynthia and I grabbed on to each other in fear._

_The pale lady stepped out of the carriage, and brought the scissors out. It was a tense, quiet moment before:_

"_AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mal and Jared jumped out of nowhere, screaming bloody murder.. which just caused Cynthia and me to jump._

"_AHHHHHH!" we echoed, terrified._

_Mal and Jared started laughing at our scared, then embarrassed expressions. _

"_Shut up! You scared us!" Cynthia looked angrily at her brother._

"_It was.. too easy!" he said, in-between laughter._

_Cynthia huffed and made her way to the kitchen._

"_I'm making more popcorn! Want any, Nat?"_

"_Sure!" I called to her, sitting back down on the couch, cheeks still flushed._

"_So.." Mal plopped down on the couch right beside me; put his legs on the coffee table, ankles crossed; and put his arm around the back of the couch cushion above my head. "What are you two watching?"_

_I struggled to hold back a blush and murmured, "Stay Alive."_

"_Hmm."_

_I just then, noticed his feet on the coffee table and stared at it. I hated when people did that. It was one of my biggest pet peeves. I tried to hold it in but eventually, I couldn't take it any longer._

"_Mal?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Could you do me a favor?"_

"_Uh, okay?" he raised an eyebrow. I quickly leaned up, and pushed his feet off of the coffee table, earning a 'thud' from them hitting the floor._

"_Thank you." I settled back into the couch cushion, smiling._

_He smirked, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You're welcome?"_

_Cynthia came back with the popcorn and sat down closely to Jared, holding out the bowl._

"_Want some?"_

"_Sure." He took a handful and stuffed it in his mouth. She immediately giggled girlishly. I furrowed my eyebrows. Did my best friend have a crush on my crush's best friend? …Whoa._

_10 minutes later was the part where the pale lady came back to life and tried to kill Hutch. When the lady made the nails fall out of her forehead, I quickly grabbed Mal's hand, unaware of anything but the movie._

_His eyes widened, and he looked at our hands for a few seconds before gulping and turning his attention back to the movie. I swear he kept stealing small glances at me from the corner of his eyes. Very slowly, he intertwined our fingers. Now was my turn to stare at our hands._

_The creepy killer lady person had just caught on fire, when I, distractedly, dug my nails into his palm, hard. He hissed silently, feeling my sharp nails. I, without taking my eyes off the screen, patted his leg, comfortably. "Sorry." I whispered, eyes glued to the TV._

_By the end of the movie, my hands had fistfuls of his shirt, and I was sitting really close to him. Like, really close. When the ending credits rolled out, I just noticed how close I actually was to him, and quickly backed away, to my original spot, eyes widened. _

_I would never forget that night._

_*__**End Flashback***_

I sighed, picked up my own coffee and walked out of StarBucks. I hopped in my car, and drove to the SFPD. I was due in for work in about 30 minutes. My mind started flashing back to other memories of Mal and myself.

_***Flashback***_

"_Natara! It's too cold to play outside!" Cynthia whined at me, from the doorway of her house._

"_C'mon Cindy! You're 14, not 4! Come play in the snow!" I made a snowball with my bare hands and threw it lightly at her._

"_But it's freezing! Can't we just stay inside, drink hot coco, and watch romantic movies?"_

"_No! They'll just make me feel even more lonelier! Let's go! We can have a snow ball fight!"_

_She groaned before putting on a jacket and trudging outside in the thick snow._

"_See? It's not so bad!"_

"_Says the girl who goes camping every weekend."_

_I threw a snowball at her. "I do not go camping every weekend!"_

"_Do too," she laughed at my scowl._

"_Anyways, Mal and Jared should be home any minute," she smirked at me._

"_Why are you so interested in Jared, anyways? …Does someone have a crush?" I poked her in the side._

"_You don't? Gosh, he's gorgeous…" she sighed dreamily._

"_Eh, he's alright." I quickly compared Mal and Jared in my mind. Sure, Jared was cute, but Mal had him beat by a long shot._

"_So, if he's just 'alright,' who do you think is cute?" My mind almost instantly flashed to Mal, but I couldn't tell her that I had a huge crush on her big brother._

"_Uh, Jonathan Taylor Thomas," I named the first actor off the top of my head._

"_Oooh he is cute. Too bad he's younger than us though," she sighed._

"_Only by a year," I shrugged._

"_Oh, look! Here come Mal and Jared!" I looked towards her driveway to see Mal parking his new car in the driveway with Jared in the front seat._

_Cynthia ran over to the now parked car and started talking to Jared. Mal turned off the ignition, hopped out of the car, and said, "Dang, it's snowed a lot today."_

"_I know. Don't you just love it?" I asked, grinning, and looking up at the still snowing sky._

"_I guess… I'm not really an outdoor-sy type of person, though." He shrugged, his cheeks turning red from the icy wind._

"_Hey guys. Me and Natara were just about to have a snowball fight. Care to join?" Cynthia smiled brightly at Jared._

"_Uh, sure. Why not?" they both shrugged at each other._

"_Let's do teams!" Mal suggested brightly._

"_Awesome. 2 on 2." I smiled._

"_Okay, so to be fair, we should do both teams boy and girl. It's not fair for 16 year old boys to go against 14 year old girls." Cynthia grinned, excitedly._

"_Okay..?" we all agreed._

"_I call Jared!" she squealed._

"_Wait, what?" Mal and I said in unison, turning to look at her with wide eyes._

"_Well I'm not going to go with my brother, silly!" she grinned flirtily up at Jared._

_I stared at her, begging her with my eyes not to team me up with my crush of 3 years. It would be so awkward._

"_Three, two, one, GO!" Cynthia yelled, grabbing Jared's hand, and running off towards the back of the house._

I shook my head of the flashback, as I pulled up to the precinct. I quickly parked and walked in.

"Lieutenant stick-up-my-ass wants to see you in his office," Blaise told me as soon as I walked in. I sighed and walked into Anders's office, immediately knowing who she meant.

Lieutenant, or shall I say Captain, Anders sat in the large chair in the front, facing the two chairs across from it. One of them was already occupied, I noticed when I walked in. I quickly sat down in the unoccupied one. Mal, the love of my life, turned to face me and gave me a quick, relieved smile, showing his straight, white teeth.

I gave him a smile back and turned to Anders.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked Anders.

"You and Detective Fallon, actually. It seems there has been a new lead on the Gretchen Reynolds's murder case-" he droned on.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked up to see Anders hadn't noticed, so I quickly slid it out of my jacket pocket and glanced at the text:

_**Thank God you showed up when you did. I thought Anders was going to glare me to death. He was just staring at me. What a creep.  
-Mal**_

You stifle a laugh and quickly respond:

_**Maybe he likes the way you look today?  
-Natara**_

_**I'm sure he does. I bet he's just jealous he can't have all this.  
-Mal**_

_**Are you ever not conceited?  
-Natara**_

_**What can I say? I'm charming. You can't tell me that you don't like it.  
-Mal**_

I gulped at that. I really did like it.

_**You wish. Snails have more charm that you do.  
-Natara**_

I looked over to see him, bending his head and reading the message. He let out a small chuckle and grinned widely.

_**Ouch. That cut me deep, partner. Anyways, aren't you supposed to be listening to Captain Boring over there?  
-Mal**_

_**Crap! We'll table this conversation later, Count Fallon.  
-Natara**_

_**Anything for you, Princess.  
-Mal**_

I smiled and closed my phone.

"So, I need you two to ride over there and investigate. Got it?" Anders's finished up.

"Uhhh," I looked over at Mal pleadingly.

"We'll go there straight away." Mal nodded at me, and stood up.

"Detective? Agent?" he asked, right before we were out the door.

"Yes?" Mal anwered.

"Find this guy quick. I don't want all of the media finding out."

"Of course, Lieutenant." I nodded and headed out.

"My car or yours?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow as soon as we were outside.

"Yours." I grinned.

He rolled his eyes. "You just want to ride in it, because it has my smell all over it, don't you?"

Yes.

"No, I like the butt-warmers," I quickly thought of an excuse.

He burst out laughing and unlocked his car.

"I feel used, Agent Williams."

"You should, Detective Fallon." I grinned and hopped in the passenger seat.

It took us about 10 minutes to get to the designated place. Luckily, Mal was listening to Anders when he told us the address.

"Well, this place looks cheerful," he gestured to the dark building.

"Where are we again?"

"Some old abandoned house. It seems that our victim, Gretchen Reynolds was murdered, then was placed here. Her body has been removed, but they wanted us to investigate."

"Lovely."

Suddenly, we saw a black car peel out of the backyard and into the street.

"In the car! Now!" Mal called, hopping in the driver's side. I barely had time to shut the door before Mal peeled out after them.

And so began the chase. Occasionally, he would make sharp turns, but we were always on his tail.

"He's turning left!"

"I know that. I can see woman!"

"Mal, get on the gas!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"It's not fast enough!"

"Would you like me to pull over and let you drive?!" he looked over at me.

"Eyes on the road!"

Mal pressed on the gas pedal, clipping the bumper of the black car.

"I'm so gonna regret this later on…" he mumbled, before he drove up right beside the van, and quickly turned right. The other guy driving had no choice but to turn the wheel, trying to avoid crashing. He was now driving on the sidewalk, but thankfully, there were no people walking. The black car hit a light pole, and instantly stopped.

We saw a retreating figure, going down a large, dark alleyway.

"Stop! He's going down the alley!"

"I can't just stop in the middle of the street!" He turned around, and pulled the car down the large alleyway.

"There he is!"

Mal pressed on the gas, straining to keep up. Obviously, this guy was some sort of runner.

The guy stopped, coming to a dead end.

Mal and I quickly exited the car, guns drawn.

"Stop! You're under arrest for the murder of Gretchen Reynolds!" Mal ordered, in his authorative voice.

The guys turned around facing us, and smirked.

"Yeah right."

_(A/N This is continuing Natara's flashback from earlier about the snow.)_

_Mal and I stood there in shock, staring after them._

_After a few seconds, Mal cleared his throat._

"_Well, uh. I guess we're partners.." he said, awkwardly._

_I just nodded._

Before I knew what was happening there were several gunshots.

"They're coming from the roof!" Mal called, pointing up.

There were, in fact, about 5 men dressed in all black, pointing guns in our direction from the windows of the houses.

Then, suddenly, they started shooting at us.

_Before I knew what was happening, Mal's hair was covered in snow. I looked towards the back of the house and saw Cynthia and Jared standing there, throwing snowballs in our direction. Jared threw one and it went right over Mal's shoulder onto the white ground._

I stood there, shocked as one bullet whizzed right over Mal's shoulder.

"Well don't just stare at them! We have to take cover!" he grabbed my hand and started pulling me around the back of his car, dragging me down so that we were squatting down side by side.

"_Well, don't just stand there! We gotta hide!" he quickly grabbed my hand and started pulling me to the other side of his car, to take cover._

_We squatted down, side by side, as snowballs whizzed by the car constantly._

_One hit his window shield and he groaned and called out, "C'mon! I just washed those windows!"_

Bullets flew past his car, some hitting it. One shattered his window shield. He groaned and exclaimed, "Oh c'mon! I just bought those yesterday! This is a brand spanking new car!"

The bullets stopped for a moment as they had to reload.

"I have an idea." Mal's eyes brightened.

"_What is our plan of strategy?" I whispered to him._

"_Um, throw back?" he suggested, raising an eyebrow and scooping snow up in his arms._

"_Of course." I smiled embarrassingly and began to copy him._

_As soon as we had enough, Mal spoke quickly, "Okay. I just took a peek. They have 6 more snowballs left until they have to stop and make more. Once they all pass, we're going to throw back, and defeat them. I'll create a short distraction, and you start throwing snowballs when I say three, okay?"_

"I'm sure they're running out of bullets. The next time they have to reload, I'm going to make a distraction, and you shoot the ones in the window. They're all hanging out of them, so it should be easy. Nat, you have to shoot all five of them though. If not, then they'll most likely shoot me because I'll be an easy target out in the open. On three, okay?"

"_No, Mal, you can't! What if they hit you?"_

"_It's a chance I'm willing to take."  
_

"No! What if you get shot?"

"That won't happen. You won't let them shoot me." He gave me a half smile, before turning around, getting in position.

"_Mal…" I started._

"_Yeah?" he whispered._

"_Be careful."_

_He took my hand and lightly kissed it, making me blush._

"_Of course." He smiled, and ran out of his hiding place._

"Wait…" I pleaded.

He turned around, facing me.

"What's wrong, Nat?"

"Be careful, Mal."

He smiled lightly, and leaned in.

"Always." Our lips were just about to brush, when he heard the bullets stopping.

"Sorry, Nat." he said, sadly, before running out of cover.

"_Yo! People! We give up! You can stop… throwing snowballs at us. Truce?" he called. I sat in my position, waiting for his signal._

_I saw a snowball hit him, square in the face. _

"_Never!" I heard Cindy giggle._

_He wiped the snowball off of his face, disgustingly._

"_Okay, that was just cruel. Nice job, Jared. Truce, now?"_

_The two slowly came out from behind the house, empty handed._

_They walked up to Mal, cautiously. Mal stood there, smiling, and held out his hand._

"_Truce?" he asked again._

_Jared narrowed his eyes, but stuck his hand out anyways. Just as their hands were about to shake, Mal shouted, "THREE!"  
_

"Okay! Fine! You got us, we give up! I swear." He held his hands up in surrender.

"Put down the gun," the man said in a foreign accent.

Mal sighed and cursed under his breath. He reluctantly pulled his pistol out from its holster, put it on the ground, then kicked it away.

"There, happy?"

"Weren't there two of you?"

"No…? Just me. I know, it's stupid sending one police officer to a crime scene. Tell that to my boss," he stalled, over dramatically rolling his eyes.

"I could've sworn there was a woman with you in that car…" the man said, thoughfully, grabbing Mal's gun.

"Psh. I wish, man. Don't we all?"

"Shut up!"

"You gotta problem with people talking?" Mal raised an eyebrow. "This is supposed to be a free country. Free speech, bro. Oh, obviously, you don't know that since you sound like a foreign squeaky mouse."

"SHUT UP, I SAID!" The man shouted angrily, holding up the gun to Mal's throat.

'Mal, please just shut up, before you get yourself killed…" I thought to myself.

"Woah, buddy. No need for that. You wouldn't really shoot me with my own gun, would you?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"SHUT UP PIG!" the man shouted, slapping Mal's face, hard.

His head jerked to the side, but he craned his neck back towards the man, anyway.

He stared at him in shock for a moment before going, "Ow!" He gently brought his hand up to his cheek, while rubbing it and furrowing his eyebrows.

The man laughed at his hurt, and spit in Mal's face.

Mal's mouth popped open in disgust, and he slowly wiped the saliva off of his cheek.

"That was unnecessary and quite gross!" he wiped it on his pants leg.

The man laughed once more before training the gun back on Mal.

"Time to go."

"Where are we going? McDonalds? I love that place!" he smirked at the other man's frustration.

"No, pig. You're going to hell."

"Well, that doesn't sound fun…"

"Oh trust me. It's not."

"Well, instead of that option. Why don't we try a new one?"

"Huh-" the guy barely got out, before Mal shouted, "THREE!"

I quickly popped up, and started shooting at the 5 in the windows.

I shot two in the arm, one in his forehead, and one straight in his chest. One to go.

Meanwhile, Mal had kicked the man's feet out from under him, and kicked him in the head, knocking him out. He grabbed his gun off the floor, where the man had dropped it.

I kept trying to shoot the 5th man, but he kept moving.

I saw him point his gun straight at Mal, who was turned around.

"MAL! DUCK!" I shouted, a second before the man shot. Luckily, Mal had fast reflexes, so he immediately dropped to the ground, hitting the deck. The bullet whizzed in the air, right where his head had been, moments before.

_I jumped up, and started throwing snowballs at the two. Mal quickly ran back to our spot, and joined me. Jared and Cindy ran around, trying to dodge flying snowballs everywhere._

_Cynthia was screaming her head off, while Jared yelped as my snowball hit him in the neck, dripping down his shirt. Mal and I just laughed, and continued to throw them._

_After about 10 more minutes of snowball fighting, we all quit. Each of us were dripping wet and shivering, so we went inside to drink some hot chocolate._

"_You know, you're not a bad person to be partnered with…" Mal said, grinning at me._

"_I'll take that as 'you're an awesome partner and if I were in a war, I want you to be on my side.'" I smirked at him._

"_You do that," he laughed._

"Well, this is… messy," Mal said, looking at the blood stained windows, after we had loaded the man into the back of his car.

"Yep…"

"Wanna make Kai clean it up?"

"You're evil."

"But I'm not detecting a no there, am I?" he grinned.

"…Fine. If we get in trouble, it was your idea."

"Hey, if I go down, you go down with me." He grinned.

He examined the front of his car, which was covered in bullet holes, frowning.

"Oh, and Nat?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, we're taking your car."

A few days later, while I was driving home from Amy's apartment, and after hours of convincing from her, I was on the phone, calling Cynthia's house. I was finally going to tell her that I was in love with her brother, while I still had the confidence to do it.

After a few rings, a male, familiar voice picked up.

"Hello?"

"M…Mal? Why are you answering Cynthia's phone?"

"I'm babysitting for her."

"Denni and Raven?"

"You got it." He laughed on the other line, talking about his 7 and 4 year old nieces.

"Oh. Well I'll just call her on her cell phone then," I said, almost hanging up.

"No! Wait, Nat. Uh, why don't you just come over here and wait for her to get home? She'll be back in a couple of hours."

"I dunno…"

"Please?"

"…you just want me to come over because you're having trouble with the kids, aren't you?"

"They're maniacs! I need you to read their minds and tell me what they want from me! Raven just asked me if she could braid my hair and paint my nails!" he exclaimed, desperately.

"I dunno… Sounds difficult," I teased.

"I'll buy you Chinese."

"DEAL! I'll be right over!" I shrieked excitedly.

He sighed with relief. "Thank God."

I laughed and hung up.

_I walked silently in the graveyard, standing behind the hunched over figure at the foot of a grave._

_I slowly bent and knelt beside them and put a hand gently on their shoulder._

"_I'm so sorry, Mal."_

_It had been two years since the snowball fight. I was now 16 and Mal was 19. I had also just gotten rid of my awful braces. It was a humid, August day, though the sun was just setting._

"_I know," he whispered, looking up at me. His eyes were red-rimmed and he looked miserable._

"_She was a good woman," I didn't know what else to say to someone whose mother had just died. The funeral had been yesterday, but he wasn't there. _

"_She was, wasn't she?" he laughed with no humor._

_It was silent for a few moments, as we both stared at the grave, with freshly overturned dirt and covered with flowers._

"_The worst part was-" he broke the silence, "I was there. I held her hand as the life drained out of her, Natara. I watched as she died… And there was nothing I could do about it," he whispered. "I've never felt so utterly helpless in my life. That was supposed to be my dads job. No person is supposed to watch that. To watch their mother be taken from them…"_

_I swallowed. "I would say I know how it feels. I would say that I know what you're going through. That I've been there before. But I'm not going to lie. I don't know how it feels. I've never been in your situation. And we both know that. But if you ever need someone to talk to, know that I'm right here. And I'm so sorry." I quietly got up and began to walk away._

"_Wait, Natara.." he said, not even turning around._

"_Yes?"_

"_Please. Just… Stay here."_

_I walked back over to where he was kneeling and sat down once again._

"_I… I need someone that I trust to talk to right now."_

"_And I'm right here," I smiled sadly at him. He looked up, into my eyes, and smiled sadly back._

"_Everyone looks at me with pity. 'Oh that's the boy who just lost his mom and his dad is in jail.' 'I wonder what he's going to do now.' I don't know why but it just irks me. They think they know what I'm going through but they don't. They have no idea how hard it is to raise a 17 year old sister without a mom or dad to help. It's insane." Tears started filling up in his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but they just ran down his cheeks. He sniffled and wiped his nose with his sleeve. There were a few stray tears, so I reached over and gently wiped them away._

_After a few more moments, he stood up._

"_I'm ready to leave now," he said, breathing in a deep breath. He held out his hand and I gratefully took it. As I was standing up, he pulled me into a quick embrace, one arm snaking around my waist, while the other across my shoulder blades. He placed his head on my shoulder and I gently hugged him back._

"_Thanks Natara," He pulled back, looking me straight in the eyes. "You've always been there for me."_

An hour later, I sat on the couch beside Mal, with Raven and Denni at our feet, painting our toes. Somehow they had managed to convince him that the clear nail polish wouldn't show up on his toes. He had refused at first, but they gave him the puppy dog looks so he caved in.

Mal had his arm around the back of my chair, and we were eating ice cream/drinking milkshakes. Him, oreo mixed in with vanilla ice cream; Me, a chocolate milkshake. The girls had already finished theirs.

"The nail polish! Why is it so cold?" Mal asked, looking down at Denni.

"No peeking!" she said, adorably.

"Sorry! Sorry!" he furrowed his eyebrows, and scooped (One handed) up some ice cream, eating it.

I eyed his dish noticeably, trying to hide a smile.

"Natara, what are you staring at?" he asked, following the line where my eyes were staring at.

"No. No way. It's mine. You shouldn't have gotten the milkshake."

"But mine is so plain!" I whined.

"Should've gotten Oreo!" he taunted, making me pout.

"Please?" I pouted more, giving him my puppy dog face.

"No.. Just because you pull that face, doesn't mean I'll give some to you. No way, no chance. Stop it! It's not going to work! Give it up, profiler! Nope! You can't put a dent in this tough piece of metal! No, you can't have any. I paid for it, so it's mine. Keep in mind, I also paid for yours too. So, no. Can't have it. All mine…. Fine, but just one bite," he gave in.

I smirked in victory.

"You know you can't say no to this adorable face," I teased. He rolled his eyes, but smiled.

He held up his spoon, which had a nail sized scoop of ice cream on it.

"You've got to be kidding me," I gave him a dead stare.

"What? It's a legitimate sized scoop!"

"For an ant! I'm a grown woman! Give me more!"

"Fine, Miss Bossy Pants." He dug his spoon into the ice cream, then pulled it out. I swear, it was half the cup on that one spoonful.

"Is that enough?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

My eyes widened and I nodded. "Oh yeah. Definitely."

"Good, cause its mine." He turned the spoon towards his open mouth. I whimpered loudly, and his face saddened.

"That was the saddest freakin' noise I have ever heard…"

"Then give it to me!" I pleaded.

"Fiiiiiine. Open wide," he teased.

I opened my mouth obediently.

"Here comes the plane… Phrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" he exclaimed, making plane noises and twirling it around and around.

I rolled my eyes and waited, mouth open.

"But the engines broken! 'We're gonna craaaaaassssshhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhh!'" He twirled the spoon downward. I immediately pouted again.

"'Hey, look! Is that Superman? He's carrying the plane for us!'"

"You have got to be the most childish man I have ever laid eyes on," I said, shaking my head in amusement.

He smirked and said, "That's a good thing. Gotta leave an impression, right? Now do you want this or not?" He raised an eyebrow.

I nodded urgently, and opened my mouth wide.

He slowly held the spoon to my mouth. I moved forward, and closed my mouth around part of the ice cream. It was way too big of a bite for my small mouth. I kept my mouth closed, but moved back, while Mal slid the spoon out of my mouth, still half full with ice cream.

He laughed at my satisfied expression and copied my movements, by putting the spoon in his mouth, eating the rest of the ice cream, that I had failed to get. I blushed, knowing my mouth had been there only seconds before, and he hadn't even dipped it back in the cup to get some more.

"Now that I taste this plain old ice cream, I think I wanna try some of yours," he said, eyeing my milkshake. I rolled my eyes and handed my cup to him.

Instead of him dipping his spoon in there, he just slurped from the straw that I had been using, watching me intently.

"You know, you guys just technically kissed… Twice," Raven said, from below, stifling a laugh.

Mal pulled the cup away from his face, coughing.

"What?!"

"You guys just indirectly kissed twice," she repeated, shrugging.

Mal and I both stared at her, eyes wide.

"Well, you did!"

"Errrm. No… Not really," I said, blushing heavily.

"Yes you did. You were swapping saliva," she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Raven, drop it." Mal said, glaring at his niece.

"Fine, fine. It's just a fact, though," she held up her hands in defeat, while bending back over my toes.

Mal looked at me sheepishly.

"Heh, heh. Kids…."

"Right.. Heh heh." I stared off at a picture of Raven and Denni when they were younger so I wouldn't have to look at him.

Something cold touched my arm, so I looked down. Mal was holding out his ice cream for me to take.

"Honestly, I don't see what your problem is. The milkshake is better than the ice cream…" he smiled at me. I knew he was lying, but I was touched at how he would give up his food just because I liked it better than mine.

I took it and smiled at him. "Thanks Mal."

"Anytime."

I took a bite of his once again.

"And you just kissed him again." "And you kissed her again." "And again." "And once more." "And now you guys are just making out!" Raven exclaimed, as we each other's meals.

"Mal, you know I hate this movie!" I exclaimed, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt.

"I know," he chuckled, just sitting there.

"Why in the world would you pick Stay Alive as our movie choice? What the heck? The girls could wake up at any moment!" I quickly thought up of an excuse, never taking my eyes off the screen.

"They've been asleep for 2 hours now. It's only 11 o'clock. Plus I love this movie!" He grinned, triumphantly.

"Why?!" I asked in desperation.

"Because you always get scared. Plus, this is like the first time we met," he smirked, looking down at his shirt, filled with my hands, gripping it.

"Ugh you're a jerk!" I swatted his arm, and scooted away from him.

"I know you're scared. C'mon now. Snuggle with Mal…" he held out his arms for me.

I looked at quickly at the screen, where some guy was getting chased by the carriage. I bit my lip and finally ran over and into his arms. I put my arms around his torso, while he wrapped one around my shoulders and one across my front, holding me close. I gently put my head on his chest, listening to his steady heart beats. He bent his head down, kissed the top of my head, then placed his head there. I smiled contentedly then sighed…

That is, until the guy died. I winced and squeezed his torso. He responded by pulling me even closer, so there was no space inbetween us.

"You know, you look real manly with pink toes…" I giggled.

He frowned at me, then looked down at his bare feet.

"Ah hell… I'll be the talk of the town tomorrow. The bad-ass Detective Mal Fallon, who has pink toenails." He shook his head. I giggled.

"What're you laughing at? Yours looks like a rainbow threw up on you," I looked down to see each nail painted a different, neon color.

We both laughed at our nails. When it came to the part on the movie where the girl died, I gasped, and Mal held my even tighter, then when I relaxed he let go.

"It's okay, Natara. I'll never let anything happen to you," he whispered in my hair. I smiled happily. I was wrapped up in the love of my life's arms, even while watching a scary movie… What more could a girl ask for?

Eventually, we fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

_***Flashback***_

_I had just walked into the San Francisco Police Department for the first time. It had been years since I had been in San Francisco. When I turned 19, I heard that Mal had had a girlfriend while attending college and he had married her. My heart was instantly broken, so when it came time to pick a college, naturally I had picked one far away from San Francisco, and far away from Mal. I had become an FBI agent, and moved to Miami. For years, I had tried to forget about my school girl crush, but it had never seemed to fade away. Trust me, I tried to forget about him. I dated Shawn Mallory for a long time. Shawn was a good distraction for a few years. That is, until I shot him accidently. Then I had somehow been transported back to San Francisco. I had not planned to see him there. I figured he had gone with his wife, Sandra, and his kids and moved to a safer place. Boy, was I wrong._

"_Excuse me, where is Captain Yeong's office?" I asked a man with short brown hair and glasses._

"_Oh, she told me to expect you. She's down at a crime scene and she wants you there immediately," he told me._

"_Oh, of course…"_

"_You can ride with me. My name is Eric, by the way."_

_I smiled at him, "Special Agent Natara Williams."_

_Thirty minutes later, I was examining the body of a girl, who had a white mask plastered over her face. I took out my camera and snapped a few pictures._

"_What the hell are you doing?" a familiar voice asked behind me. I would know that voice anywhere. _

"_Mal?!" I whipped my head in his direction, standing up._

"_Natara?!" his eyes widened in disbelief._

"_You two know each other?" the older, stern looking woman beside him asked._

"_It's been a long time…" he murmured, staring at me._

_He had changed over the past few years. His hair had gotten even more messier, and he had a stubble. His arms were muscular, and it seemed as if his whole body was now ripped. Even though so much had changed, he still had those piercing blue eyes. I raised both my eyebrows in surprise. Thirty three years old and still looking as sexy as ever…_

"_Well, I'll let you two catch up for a moment," she said, walking towards the body._

"_Woah… You grew up." His eyes widened even more as the roamed my body, checking me out._

"_I could say the same for you." I copied his actions._

_He quickly saw the glare coming out of the captain's eyes, straightened up, and held out a hand.  
"I'm Detective Mal Fallon." He smiled teasingly, remembering that conversation from so many years ago._

_I quickly shook his hand. "Special Agent Natara Williams."_

_He smirked. "Can I call you Nat?"_

"_You can call me Special Agent Natara Williams." I said, my mouth turning up into a smile._

_***End of flashback***_

I was getting tired of Mal not noticing that I was deeply in love with him. I was tired of him not loving me back. I was tired of him not actually ever kissing me. But, most importantly, I was tired of me being too much of a coward to tell him myself. More like, aggravated. So technically, it wasn't my fault that I had snapped at almost every one in the station that one morning, including him.

"C'mon Nat. It's 10 o'clock. You've been doing paper work all day." Mal said, walking into my office.

"No! I have to finish this!" I snapped, then looked down at the paper that I was currently working on.

"Natara, what's wrong? You've been acting weird all day."

"I haven't been acting weird!"

"See? You just snapped at me.. For like the 40th time today. Atleast let me take you home."

"No! I have to finish!"

"It's about to start raining. It's dangerous to drive in a storm."

"I don't care."

He gently placed his hands over mine, and dragged them away from the paper. I instantly looked up and into his eyes. He leaned in close, almost nose to nose.

"You need sleep. Let's go." He whispered.

I sighed, defeated.

"I guess some sleep would do some good…" I mumbled.

He grinned in victory.

"Thank you." He helped me into my jacket and led the way to the car. On the way to my apartment, it had been awkward silence, besides the rain falling on the roof of the car.

He pulled up to the front of my building and stopped.

"Thanks." I mumbled, before quickly hopping out.

"Wait, Natara!" he jumped out of his car, and ran in front of me, blocking my path.

"What, Mal? It's 11:30. I'm tired and it's pouring.."

"Tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing-"

"You're lying. I know something's wrong. You're not acting like yourself."

"Yes I am, now move!" I said, attempting to get around him, but he mirrored my movements.

"Tell me what's wrong and I'll let you go!"

"No! Move!" I tried to shove past him, but he gripped my arms, pulled me close, and whispered, "Please," looking me straight in the eyes. I got lost in his blue orbs for a moment before I pulled back.

"No…" I mumbled, looking down.

"You can trust me. I'm your best friend. Please tell me…"

"It's because I…. I-" I cut off, not saying anything else.

"You what?"

"Nothing. Move."

"God dammit, Natara! Just tell me what's wrong!" he growled angrily.

"It's because I love you, okay?!"

He stayed silent for several moments, before asking, "What?"

"I'm aggravated because I love you. I've loved you since I was 11. And you've never even noticed!"

He stayed silent, looking at the ground, eyebrows furrowed. It was raining hard now, so I was soaked with my hair plastered to my face. A few tears escaped my eyes as I thought of how he would never talk to me again. Well, I've already started. Might as well tell him the whole story. So, I continued.

"Mal, I've loved you since I first met you. I still remember that day perfectly. I had walked into the kitchen and you were sitting there, in a dark blue shirt and blue jeans. You were stuffing your face with a sandwich-"

As I was talking, I saw him glance up, and meet my eyes. His eyes had widened, shocked that I still remembered that day.

"I remember you and Jared coming out to scare us and me clinging onto you for dear life for the rest of the movie. I remember our snowball fight, where Cynthia would purposefully choose Jared, and make us partner up together. I remember calling your house every day and praying to God that you would answer so I could get to talk to you for a few extra seconds… And now that I say that, it sounds kind of creepy. And when your mom died, and we hugged for the first time. The past year and a half… Mal, I've been in love with you for 20 years."

His eyes glazed over and he looked down once again. "But you left…" he whispered.

"Because you got married to Sandra. It broke my heart, Mal. I couldn't stand seeing you with anyone else. That's why I didn't come to the wedding and I moved to a college farther away. So I didn't have to see you with her everyday. So I could eventually get over you. That's why I dated Shawn. He was a great distraction but I never could forget about you. Then I was transferred over to San Francisco again. And when I found out we were partners? I didn't know whether to cry for joy or sadness. And then you dated Tasha, Minka, and Selene? I felt as if my heart was being ripped out. I hated seeing you with them. It was just like with the Sandra thing. So I dated Oscar and we got engaged. I knew I wouldn't be able to marry anyone besides you so I broke everything off with him. Mal, what I'm trying to say is… No matter how many guys I go out with, I can't seem to shake you. I can't get you and out my head and forget about you. And I know that me saying all of this is ruining everything that we had. Our friendship, us being partners, but it had to be said. I love you. I thought you should know…Goodbye Mal." I finished, taking a deep breath. A few more tears escaped my eyes, as I brushed right by him, barley touching shoulders. He was stiff from shock, and didn't attempt to stop me as I shoved past him.

Suddenly, he seemed to unfreeze as it all soaked in. I had barely taken three steps behind him, when I felt a warm, large hand wrap around my elbow. It all happened so fast, I could barely blink. He had quickly turned around, facing my back, grabbed my elbow, and pulled me backwards, towards him. He whirled me around so I was facing him, as he pulled me to his chest, leaving no space in between us. He instantly wrapped an arm around my waist and looked me in the eyes for a split second before he crashed his lips to mine. He kissed me passionately for a few moments, and after I had gotten over the shock of it all, I kissed him back, one hand tangling in his messy, now soaked hair. After what felt like an eternity, but in reality, a few seconds, I pulled back quickly, gasping.

"What's wrong?" Mal asked, worry thick in his voice.

"Mal, we… We can't! We can't do this!" My eyes widened in horror.

His face rearranged into hurt. "Why not?" he whimpered.

"Cynthia! I-I can't go around kissing her brother! I can't do this. I'm sorry Mal," I cried, before turning, running into the building, and straight into the elevator. Right before the doors closed, I looked back and could see Mal's hurt expression, still standing outside in the pouring rain.

As soon as the elevator doors opened on my floor, I ran into my apartment and hurriedly closed the door. I braced myself against it, breathing heavily, tears streaming down my cheeks.

I couldn't kiss him. He was my best friend's brother. It was wrong. Even if it did feel right. I wanted to be with him; but then again, I couldn't. Cynthia would never forgive me. I stood like that for a few more seconds thinking.

I just lost the love of my life. All just because he was my best friend's brother. That shouldn't even matter! I love him! So what, he's my best friend's brother? I shouldn't care! I don't care! I'm not going to let something as stupid as that get in the way of my true love! I certainly deserved it. I don't care if he's my best friend's brother… I love Mal and I'm going to get him back, once and for all, before I lose him to another girl again. I just hoped he would be willing to forgive me… and was not too far away from here.

I quickly got out my cell phone from my purse and hit #1 on speed dial. I jerked open the door, ready to run after his car just to apologize. He shouldn't have left that long ago… We had only kissed around 5 minutes ago… As soon as I was about to race out the door, the sight that met my eyes in the doorway made my heart stop.

There was Mal, standing there soaking wet from the rain, slightly out of breath, holding up his cell phone which was playing _I Won't Give Up _by Jason Mraz. I could barely make out the words on his cell phone that said, '_Natara,'_ meaning that I was calling him.

"I won't give up on us. Even if the skies get rough. I'm givin you alllll my love. I'm still lookin' up! Still lookin' up! I won't give up on us. God knows I'm tough enough. We've got a lot to learn. God knows we're worth it. I won't give up on us-" his phone cut off.

I couldn't breathe for a moment. He set that song as my ringtone? Did that mean that he actually…?

I didn't have time to answer my thought question, though. I stood there shocked as his sharp, blue eyes pierced into my soft, hazel ones. Without saying a word, he flipped his phone closed, silencing it, and let it slip right through his fingers, letting it drop to the floor. I watched his every move, eyes wide as a deer in headlights's. Silently but quickly, he moved towards me, grabbed my face, then kissed me desperately. I kissed him back with everything I had held in me for the last 20 years. Somewhere in there, I had dropped my phone, also. Not that I was paying attention or anything. My attention was on Mal's soft lips caressing mine. After a few breathless moments, we both pulled back, leaning on each other's foreheads.

"I love you Natara." He said, trying to regain his breath.

I grinned at those words. I've been waiting since 6th grade to hear those words. They sounded sweeter than I had ever imagined.

"I love you too Mal." He grinned back at me.

After a silent second, I giggled.

"What?" He asked, grinning even wider.

"You're so cheesy."

"How?" he raised an eyebrow, pulling back.

"I Won't Give Up as my ringtone? Seriously?" I teased.

"Well, I won't." he whispered, before pecking my lips for a second.

"It's still cheesy."

"Then let's hear yours, shall we?" he grinned mischieviously.

My eyes widened in horror.

"No!"

"Yep." He grinned, picked up his phone, and before I could react, _Best Friend's Brother _from Victoria Justice started playing from my phone on the floor.

"My best friend's brother is the one for me! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. A punk rock drummer and he's six foot three. I don't want to, but I want to! Cause I just can't get him, outta my mind, and yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. My best friend's brother is the one for me! BFB! BFB! My best friend's brother, my best friend's broth-" It suddenly cut off, as Mal closed his phone, ending the call.

My cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he smirked at me.

"And I'm the cheesy one?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Eh… It was necessary…" I mumbled, looking away.

He came close, his nose touching mine.

"You're adorable, you know that?" he asked, before kissing me once again. Several moments later, I pulled away.

"But what about Cynthia! She's going to hate us!" my eyes widened in fear.

He looked me in the eyes and said, "So what? She married my best friend; why can't I marry hers?"

My heart stopped then. He wanted to marry me?

"But you're my best friend's brother!"

"Hey, my situation sounds worse. I'm in love with my little sister's best friend. Who cares though?"

He was in love with me? My heart fluttered.

I quickly brought his lips back to mine. After another several moments I pulled away, revealing Mal's scowl.

"Stop pulling away!"

"Mal, your car is still running..."

"I'll buy more gas on the way home," he mumbled, before kissing me again.

I pulled away once more. "But your battery is going to die."

"I'll buy a new battery on the way home," he said, before bringing my lips back to his.

I pulled away, making Mal groan in frustration. "Someone could steal your car. Your keys are still in there."

"I'll buy a new car on the way home!" he finished, kissing me once again, hard, and holding my head so I wouldn't back away again.

After a few minutes, he pulled away, breathless, and leaned his forehead against mine.

"I love you Natara." He looked me in the eyes tenderly.

"Call me Special Agent Natara Williams."

"I think I prefer Nat."

***_Short epilogue*_**

(Seven months later, in a quiet hotel room, behind a closed, locked door)

"Mal Fallon! You did not just bring the movie _Stay Alive _on our honeymoon!" I shrieked, hitting him in his chest.

"But I love this movie!" he complained.

"You're such an ass!"

"Hey, if it'll get the big, tough profiler to snuggle up to me, then I'll use anything."

I rolled my eyes at him. Of course he would bring the movie just so I would be scared and clutch onto him the whole time.

"If it makes you feel any better, We probably won't even be watching it any ways. We'll be too... Distracted." he wiggled his eyebrows mischievously.

Surprsingly, Cynthia was thrilled when Mal and I had told her that we were together. She said that she and her husband, Jared, had betted on how long it would take us to admit our feelings to each other.

I rolled my eyes at him, grabbed the back of his head, and kissed him slowly.

He groaned and gently pushed me down on the couch, him hovering over me.

"By the way, you look absolutely beautiful." he said,pulling away for a moment.

I blushed and mumbled, "Thanks. Tuxes suit you well."

He grinned and whispered, "You looked way better in that dress though." before crashing his lips to mine again.

Several minutes later he pulled away, leaning his forehead against mine.

"I love you Nat."

I smirked at what I was about to do... I just couldn't resist.

"Call me Special Agent Natara Fallon."

He smirked at me. "God, I love that name."

"So do I-" I barely got thesentence out before Mal silenced me with a world-shattering kiss.

And to this day, my favorite movie is still Stay Alive.

_***The End***_

Yay! Another happy ending! Yay! A rain scene! Yay! Cynthia and Jared got together! Yay! So much Maltara!

So sorry this is late! 9th grade is hard! So please make my Monday even better and review! Please?! For Mal and Natara?! :)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter! They made my month! Until next week!


	3. I Like It

_**~~~Important Author's note. Please read!~~~**_

_**Thank you to everyone who reviewed on the last two chapters! I appreciate it so much! I'm sorry, I would reply to the reviews individually, but I don't have much time right now. **_

_**I'm not really sure about this chapter... It's just... eh. Review and tell me what you think.. Please? Oh and this chapter is definitely for maturer audiences! **_

_**The ones that look like **this **are their thoughts.**_

_**I won't be able to type much this week. Today I heard that a hurricane is headed towards the state that I live in and I'm a nervous wreck. I might not have internet service, but if it does come, then I won't have school, and I'll be able to type... Until my laptop dies. Then I'll just be bored. I hope my house doesn't get torn down! D: Also, Thursday, my dad is having a surgery to get some kidney stones removed so please pray for him! I'm really scared about that. **_

_**Please please review and make my week better. I'm already dreading Wednesday and Thursday... **_

_**Until next time (if I actually have internet service)**_

_**Thanks for reading this!**_

_**Song is **I Like It **by Enrique and Pitbull. I didn't know which song to do this by, so if you havebarrettes idea, let me know. :)**_

**I Like It**

**Summary: **

**A week before the wedding, Natara finds out that Oscar has been cheating on her. Mal finds her at a bar, crying helplessly. Can he help her get over him?**

_**You are now Detective Mal Fallon:**_

You walk into your favorite bar, The Drunk Tank, on a Saturday night. Your eyes scan the crowd, searching for Blaise. You scowl when you don't see her, and check your watch. 10:17. You furrow your eyebrows.

'Blaise told me she'd be here at 10… Damn girl is always late…' You think to yourself, before seating yourself at your favorite stool at the bar.

A few seconds later, your phone buzzes. You slide it out of your pocket to see it's a call from Blaise.

"Can't make it tonight. Busy. Sorry Fallon."

You frown.

"What the hell? I'm already here!"

"Drink with Diego."

"He's not here."

"Find a drinking buddy."

"Like who?"

"Kai"

"Hell no. You've got to be kidding me."

"Call your girlfriend."

"Selene is at work."

"I meant your real girlfriend."

"Who?"

"Natara!"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Same difference."

"Seriously, Blaise. She's not. She's getting married in a week."

"All the more reason to bed her before she gets hitched."

"Blaise…" You say, warningly.

"I'm not apologizing!"

"What am I going to say? 'Hey, I know you're getting married next week, but would you like to come out and get wasted then later, go back to my apartment and do unspeakable things that I've been dreaming about for 2 years?!'" You say sarcastically.

"You've been dreaming about bedding her for 2 years?!"

"Not helping, Blaise."

"Just ask her to come out with you. Don't make it too big."

"I can't."

"You can and you will. Don't be such a dumbass. Just call her and ask. So what if she says no? You're going to call her right when I hang up, okay?"

There was a loud, familiar crying coming from the other side of the bar. You furrow your eyebrows curiously, and walk to the other side of the bar.

"What the heck…?" You mumble.

"Um, Blaise?"

"Sup?"

"I won't have to call her."

"Why not?"

"Because she's already here."

"Wha-?" she starts, but you cut her off.

"Gotta go. Talk to you later." You say, never taking your eyes off of her.

You press the end button and walk over to your partner.

She is sitting on a stool, crying her eyes out. Some creepy guy is sitting beside her, all up in her personal space, staring at her lustfully, and looking like he would take her to the bathroom at any second now. The guy was talking to her and occasionally, she would reply.

You quickly walk over there, ready to get rid of this creep.

"Oh Natara! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" you exclaim fakely.

"Mal…?" she looks up at you, confused.

Your face visibly saddens at the sight of her. Her nose is red and stuffy, and her eyes are blood-shot from all the crying.

"Honey, why are you here?" You smile.

"Honey…?" she mumbles, furrowing her eyebrows.

"What do you think you're doing?" You growl at the creep, who's sitting a mere 2 centimeters away from her.

"Sitting…?" he says, innocently.

"Of course you are." You say threateningly.

"Who are you anyway?" The guy says, trying to look intimidating.

You quickly think for a moment. What would be a good way to scare him off?

"I'm her husband."

Your eyes flicker over to Natara, silently pleading with her to go along with it.

Her eyes widen, and she says, "Husband?!"

"That's right. I'm your husband. You must have drunk a lot if you can't even remember your own husband!"

"You're her husband?" the guy asks.

"I sure am."

"Psh. I've seen better. Come on, baby. Let me take you home and show you what real pleasure is like. Way better than this clown."

"Back off!" You growl through your teeth.

"I could take you."

"I'm a cop." Your eyes flash angrily.

"You think I care?"

"Get your ass out of here, before I do it for you."

"You don't scare me."

You quickly pull your gun out of its holster and shoot a beer bottle, the bullet whizzing right by his ear.

"Get. Out." You say, menacingly.

"I'm going! I'm going!" the guys eyes widen, frighteningly, and he runs out of the bar, tripping over his own feet.

You watch him through narrowed eyes. As soon as he steps foot out of the bar, your eyes train back on Natara.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" You ask, worry in your eyes.

"No! He was really nice! I'm fine. Fine fine fine fine fine!" she giggles.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" You purse your lips at her.

"No! I'm not drunk! How could you think such a silly thing?!"

"Yeah… How could I? I'm so silly. Why were you crying earlier?"

"I was crying?"

"Yes?" You raise an eyebrow at her.

"Oh.." she looked down.

"Why were you crying?"

"Oh, I'll tell you later!" she giggles, taking a sip of her beer.

"Natara… How many beers have you had?"

"Oh, I dunno." She shrugs innocently. "Five or six. Why?"

"Natara, you're drunk."

"No, I'm not! Stop being such a sourpuss!" she sticks her tongue out at you.

"I'm not being a-" You start.

"I love this song! Come dance with me, Mal!" she interrupts you.

"I don't think so…" You scratch the back of your head awkwardly.

"Come on. Pleeaaasssee? Just one song?" she gives you the puppy dog eyes and pouts.

"Nat, I really don't want to…"

"Please? For me?"

"….Fine. But just one dance, and I'm bringing you home."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she kisses your cheek, before grabbing your hand, and pulling you out on the dance floor.

Your eyes widen as she kisses you, and you let her pull you out onto the floor.

"Now what?" you ask awkwardly, looking around at all the other dancing couples.

"Now, we dance!" she exclaimed.

She begins to do the sprinkler, then the robot, to the disco move, and finally the Cabbage Patch.

You watch her with a smirk on your face.

"What?" she asks, stopping abruptly.

You shake your head, chuckling, and say, "You're such a dork, Natara Williams."

"Well, what would you rather me do?"

"Something not dorky…"

"Oh, so something-" she quickly presses herself against you, and whispers, "Like this?" Her barely-there curves fit perfectly in your muscular frame.

Your eyes widen and you gulp.

"Ermmm. Uh, Um…" You stutter.

She grins mischievously, and grabs your hands, placing them on her hips, without breaking eye contact.

You stand there, frozen, unable to move.

She smirks and turns around in your arms, hooking her arm around your neck from behind, then begins to grind against you.

Your eyes widen even more.

"Oh my God." You mumble.

She takes that as a good sign, and begins to grind harder.

"Nat. What are you doing?" Your voice cracks at the end.

"Dancing… Why?" she bats her eyes innocently.

"Nat, stop. Please. You're killing me…" you begin to beg, face contorting to pain. All you want to do right now is kiss her. You know she's going to hate you in the morning for even letting her do this in public.

'Stop it Mal. She's drunk! Do NOT take advantage of her. She's your best friend. Nothing more.' You think to yourself, heart rate speeding up.

She turns around; facing you again, wraps her arms around your neck, and leans in close. Close enough that you can feel her minty breath blowing on your face. Her smell is intoxicating and you feel like you are going to drown in it. Her lips are a mere inch away from yours. You stare at her face for a moment, hypnotized. You and Natara make eye contact, and you stand there, looking into each other's eyes, getting lost in them. Your eyes flash down to her lips briefly, then back up to her eyes again. Her eyes catch your eyes once again and you both unknowingly, move even closer to each other.

'Mal Fallon! She's drunk! She doesn't know what she is doing! She's going to kill you tomorrow if you kiss her! Stop it! Pull away!' You think to yourself.

You stand there, frozen, and enjoy the feel of her pressed against you for a few more seconds, before you pull away, sliding your arms back to your sides.

"C'mon Nat. We're going home," you say in a stern voice, before you can give in and stay longer.

"But I'm not through dancing!" She pouts.

"You can dance another night. Let's go." You grab her arm, and gently tug her out to the parking lot.

She begins walking towards her car.

"Oh no," you grab her elbow, halting her, "You driving is out of the question. You're drunk. You could get killed!"

"Then where else am I going to go?!"

You sigh. "Hop in." You open the passenger side of your car for her. She slowly gets in, and you close the door after her.

You take a few seconds to recollect yourself after what happened in the bar, fingers raking through your messy hair, then get in the driver's side.

You take a deep breath, and pull out of the parking lot.

"So, what happened?" You ask, trying to fill in the awkward silence.

"We almost kissed," she giggles, making faces in her rear view mirror.

"No, uh. Not that. Why were you crying?" You ask, cheeks flaming.

"I told you! I'll tell you later!" she exclaims, sticking her tongue out at the mirror and giggling at her reflection.

"Wha….What are you doing?!" You ask, shaking your head, amused.

"I don't know! This creepy lady is making the same faces as me at the exact same time that I do! It's ridiculous, and I need to make her stop because she's annoying!" Natara frowns at the mirror, then bares her teeth.

You chuckle under your breath, and face the road once again. 'I am definitely going to take Natara out to bars more… She hilarious when she's drunk!'

"Craaap! Mal, make it stooooop!" she pouts at you, pointing to the outside mirror.

"I heard that you can get rid of those creepy ladies in the mirrors by crossing your eyes and making the funniest face you can think of."

"That's stupid!" she sticks her tongue out at you.

"Fine…. Be stuck with the creepy lady then…" You shrug your shoulders, and turn your left blinker on.

She bites her lip nervously, looking between you and the mirror.

Finally she says, "Fine," then turns to face the mirror.

"Wait, I've got to see it too. I've got a creepy lady over in this mirror also." You nod at your rear view mirror on your side.

"No you don't! You have a man on your side! That means you have to make a face also!" she complains, watching you through the rear view mirror.

"Fine, on three. Ready?"

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

You both face each other, putting on your silliest faces. You laugh at her, hard. Her hazel eyes are crossed, while she makes a fish face, her hands coming up beside her face to make 'gills.'

She laughs at your face. You focus one eye on her, while you make the other one go in the opposite direction.

"Ew! That's creepy!" she giggles, hysterically.

You laugh along with her, reach up one hand, and rub your eyes.

"Ugh, but it hurts like the devil!" You put both hands back on the steering wheel and take a peek over at Natara.

She's flipping through the radio stations, looking for a good song.

"Oh my gosh! I love this song!"

You raise an eyebrow at her.

"Sing with me!"

"I don't think I know the words…" You explain, uncomfortably.

"It's easy! Just keep up-" she says.

"We found love in a hopeless place! We found love in a hooooopeless place! We found love in a hopeless place! We found love in a hoooopelessss plaaaace!" she sings along with the radio, letting her window down. You laugh along with her, and roll your window down also.

"It's the way I'm feelin' I just can't denyyyyy! But, I've gotta let it goooo!" As she was singing, the open window was blowing her hair behind her, making her look like a fashion model. You stare, dumbfounded for a split second. 'She is absolutely gorgeous… And yet, she isn't mine. Oscar better thank God every single second of his life for him to be engaged to this beautiful, amazing woman beside me.' You think.

"We found love in a hopeless place! We found love in a hoooooopeless place! We found love in a hopeless place! We found love in a hooooopeless plaaaaaace!" You and Natara sing together, at the top of your lungs. After the 1st chorus, you begin to catch onto the song, since it said the same words over and over again.

You sing solo, "It's the way I'm feelin-" then you cut off and wait.

"I just can't denyyyyyy!" Natara finishes for you, giggling.

"But I've gotta let it gooooooooo! We found love in a hopeless place!" The rest of the car ride went on like that. You and Natara singing songs at the top of your lungs, wind blowing through your hair, and being blissfully happy with her.

"Pllllleeeeaaaasssseee?! C'mon Mal! Please please please!" she pouts at me.

"No. No way. No chance."

"Please Mal! I really want to!"

"No. I'm not going to."

"Please Mal? I'll give you 100 bucks!"

"No Natara! N-O. That spells noooo," You cross your arms.

"Come on Mal! Don't be a baby!"

"I'm not playing leap frog with you, Natara!"

"Why not?! You're no fun!" she pouts, looking me straight in the eye.

I sigh and turn around before I give in. "I'm going to make coffee…"

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to have to stay awake to watch you all night. Want some?"

"Yea-" she starts but you cut her off, "Actually, forget I even asked. You don't need caffeine right now anyways."

She huffs, and sits back down on the couch, watching TV.

A few minutes later, you come back, a fresh, steaming cup of coffee in your hand. As soon as you walk in, you see Natara's shirt lifted up slightly, showing her flat stomach and her bellybutton. She's looking at it curiously, while stroking her stomach.

"Whatcha doing?" You ask, trying not to laugh.

"What is this thing?!" she asks, bewildered, pointing to her belly button.

"That's your belly button." You stifle a laugh.

She looks up at you thoughtfully.

"Oh… Do you have one too?" she tilts her head to the side.

You chuckle, place your coffee down, and lift up your shirt slightly, showing your belly button and the bottom of your abs.

"Woah dude! You're ripped!" she exclaims, eyes wide.

You quickly put down your shirt, cheeks flaming.

A few minutes of awkward silence later, you look over to her. She's sitting still, off in her own world, a sad expression on her face.

"Hey Nat?" you ask softly.

She stirs and looks towards you expectantly.

"Yeah?" she whispers.

"What happened? It's later. You can tell me these things Natara. I swear, I won't tell anybody."

She looks down at the ground, shamefully, and mumbles something incoherent.

"What did you say?" You ask.

"Mal… He cheated on me. Oscar cheated on me the week before our wedding. He was asleep, and his phone kept vibrating, so I picked it up, and it was another woman." Her voice cracked at the end, tears welling up in her eyes. You quickly go to sit beside her on the couch. You gently take her hand and stroke circles on her palm with your thumb, soothingly.

She clears her throat and tries again. "The woman told me all about how Oscar had signed up for all these dating sites after we were engaged, and that she had no idea we were almost married. I hung up, and kicked him out of my house, saying that we were through. Now you know why I was at the bar."

"Oh Nat. I'm so sorry." You say sadly, but on the inside you're secretly having a mental dance party.

You bring her close to you and wrap your arms around her tiny, frail shoulders, and give her a long, lasting hug. She lays her head on your muscular shoulder. You don't want to ever leave this position no matter what.

"It's okay…"

"No it's not Nat. He's stupid. Only freaking retarded men with mental problems would cheat on you. Oscar doesn't know what he's missing. Listen to me Natara Williams," You start off, grabbing her face, and making her look you in the eyes.

"You are an amazing and beautiful woman. Any guy would be lucky to have you. You're sweet, beautiful, funny when you're drunk, and you have a great sense of humor. Don't let some jerk ruin that, okay?" You whisper to her.

"Okay…" she whispers back, getting lost in your eyes.

"You'll be alright. One day, the right guy will come along… I swear."

You lay wrapped in each other's arms for a few silent , minutes, before Natara says, "Mal… I think I will be alright. I think I'm just now realizing something, though."

"Like what?" you ask curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"I wasn't in love with Oscar."

"You weren't?!" Your eyes widen, and you take a sip of coffee before it gets cold.

"No…. I'm in love with you."

Your eyes widen even more and from the shock of it all, you begin to choke on your coffee.

"What?!" You finally say at last, your eyes and throat burning.

"I'm in love with you, Mal. Don't you love me too?" she asks hopefully.

"I…..I'm dating Selene," Your mouth says the first thing that pops into your mind.

"Oh…" she looks down sadly.

"Natara… You don't love me. That's just the alcohol talking," you explain.

"No it's not! I am in love with you, Mal! I just haven't realized until the car ride home when you brought me here and we sung together!"

"This is why you shouldn't drink beer. It makes you think crazy things…"

"I'm being serious! I'm not lying, Mal! I'm saying this as sober as I can!"

"Natara-" You grab her face again and look into her eyes. "You're intoxicated. We'll talk about this in the morning. It's time for you to go to bed."

"I don't feel like getting up!" she complains. You sigh, stand up, pick her up bridal style, carry her to your bed, and softly lay her in.

"I love you Mal."

"No, you don't," you deny. You want her words to be true. You've been wanting them to be the truth for 2 years now; just not this way. She's highly intoxicated. She'll say that to a hobo walking down the street, if she found one. This is no different.

"How do you want me to prove it to you?!" she calls.

You turn around and go up right beside where she's leaning up.

"There's nothing to prove. You don't love me. That's it. End of story ." You say in a monotone voice because you want what she's saying to be true… But you know it never can be. You're Mal Fallon, the guy with the worst luck possible.

She groans frustratingly, grips the back of your head, tangles her fingers in your hair, and pulls you down to where you are almost brushing lips with her.

"Believe me now?" she whispers. She was so close, you could easily just lean in a half of a millimeter and you'd be kissing her. You wanted to so badly for 2 years. And now here's your chance…

But instead of leaning in the rest of the way, you pull away an inch, but Natara keeps her fingers tangled in your hair.

"I'm so sorry. You'll regret this in the morning if you find out that we 'kissed.' I can't take advantage of you when you're drunk. I'm sorry, Nat…" You beg and plead with your eyes for her to understand.

She groans and brings you closer again. This time, her lips head for your neck.

"What the-…Oh my God." You mumble as she nibbles on the tender skin of your neck.

She giggles at your reaction, then moves up to suck lightly on your sweet spot, the skin right behind your earlobe.

"God, Natara," You groan, closing your eyes, enjoying her lips pressed against your skin. She then moves to the side, and kisses the very corner of your lips teasingly.

You go in to kiss her on the lips deeply, but she heads back down for your neck, kissing it, slowly. You close your eyes briefly again and enjoy the sensation.

She flips you both over, so that you are lying down and she's on top of you, straddling you. She heads back up to your face, and before you realize it, she's already got your blazer and blue shirt off, revealing your well sculpted muscles. She grins mischievously as she runs her hands over your washboard abs. While she's doing that, she kisses every inch of your face, besides your lips. You try to capture her lips with yours but she's too fast.

"Dammit Natara!" you growl huskily, getting frustrated that you can't kiss her. She grins against your shoulder blade, turns her head, and begins to suck on your neck lightly. You're pretty sure it's going to be a hickey in the morning.

Suddenly, guilt floods you. She's going to hate you when she becomes sober. She'll never talk to you again, just because you let her have her way. Or, her drunken way. Your throat clenches painfully at the thought of her never talking to you again.

She comes away from your neck, satisfied with her work, and brushes her lips against yours. This is your chance… Are you going to take it, and please yourself, but make her hate you forever or are you going to not take the chance, chicken out, and stop her.

She's just about to deepen the kiss when… You turn your head sharply, so she only kisses your cheek.

"I can't Nat," you bite your bottom lip nervously. She bends towards you, and takes your bottom lip in her teeth, out of yours. She doesn't kiss you or anything. Just stays there, with that little piece of your pink flesh in her teeth. She slowly scrapes her teeth down it, until she lets go.

"Kiss me," she whispers.

You groan. "Natara, I can't."

"Yes, you can. You are my husband, aren't you?" she asks, reminding me of the bar.

"You don't know how bad I want this-" You start, while she is kissing your shoulder blade. "But it can't happen right now, okay?"

"Fiiiine," she flops over, on the other side of the bed, landing right beside me.

I breathe a sigh of relief, but I also yearned for her to be on top of me again.

"You should, uh…. You should go to sleep. You're going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow."

She stays silent.

You get up, go over to a few drawers, and hand her one of your T-shirts, and some long shorts.

"Here, you can sleep in these. They both will be too big but, uh… You can tighten up the shorts." You offer them to her. She takes them, gets up silently, and walks to the bathroom. You grab your discarded shirt and slide it back on. A couple of seconds later, she walks out of the bathroom.

Your eyes widen. 'I think I like it way better when she wears my clothes than when she wears hers!' You think to yourself, checking her out.

"I… I think I'm ready to go to sleep now," she says, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Oh! Right! Uh, of course. Here," you pull back the covers of your bed for her, and she silently slides in them.

You start to turn away to leave when you hear, "Hey, Mal?"

"Hmm?"

"One kiss goodnight? Please?" she pouts at you.

"I dunno…"

"It can be anywhere. Please please?!" she smirks hopefully.

"Ugh, you know I can't say no to that face," You tell her, leaning in. You slowly kiss her on her forehead for a long moment before backing away, and heading to the living room. Right before you get out of the doorway, you whisper, "Goodnight Natara."

"Night Mal."

You turn the light out and head into the living room to set up a make shift bed on your couch. You grab a pillow and a blanket, and place it on the couch. Since your coffee (and that exciting moment that had just happened in your room) hasn't worn off yet, you flip on the TV, and watch the news for a while.

Ten minutes later, you see your bedroom door open, and Natara shuffle to the doorway and stay there.

"Mal?" she asks in a small voice.

"Yeah? What's wrong?"

"N.. Nothing's wrong. It's just that I…"

"You what?"

"I don't want to sleep alone," she mumbles, looking at the floor, blushing hard.

"Why not?" You tease.

"…..monsters," she whimpers.

You chuckle under your breath.

"Fine… But I'm going to have hell from Selene if she hears about this," you walk to your bedroom, Natara shuffling after you.

"Ladies first," you gesture towards the bed. She crawls in on the left side, pulling the covers up to her nose.

You quickly take off your shirt and pants, now only in boxers.

You see Natara's eyes widen as she checks out your top half.

You chuckle and get in on the opposite side, as far away from her as possible.

She giggles, and you turn around to face her.

"What? I don't have cooties," she rolls her eyes, scoots closer to you, and snuggles up to your chest, resting her head on your steadily beating heart.

You stiffen, then after a few seconds, you begin to relax, and wrap your arms around her. 'What the heck? I mean, she's drunk right? She'll never remember this by tomorrow. Might as well enjoy it while I can.'

You two fall asleep in each other's arms.

_**You are now Special Agent Natara Williams:**_

Your head is pounding. You can't stay asleep because the pounding is getting worse and worse. You try to open your eyes, but they feel like 100-pound weights. You groan and lift your arm to rub your eyes. When your arm is traveling on its way, though, it brushes against something you would've never expected.

Skin… Warm skin. Then you notice, the skin is all around you; Warmness surrounding you.

You're generally confused. The last thing you remember was Oscar had cheated on you, you broke up with him, and went to the bar. You can't remember anything else that went on after that.

You must've gotten wasted and slept with some random stranger out of heartbreak. You sigh. 'No more alcohol for me.' You decide you want to know what person the skin belongs to, since it's not yours.

You groggily force your eyes open only to see the sleeping face of your handsome partner, Mal Fallon.

'Oh my gosh. I slept with my partner?! I slept with my best friend?! This is awful! Oh my goodness!'

You take a look around, to see you're in Mal's apartment, in Mal's bed, and even, on top of Mal, who has his arms wrapped around you. You look down to see that Mal is bare-chested and you're even wearing clothes twice the size as you… Mal's clothes.

You can't help it. It all comes as a shock, so you scream a blood-curdling stream.

"Holy-!" Mal yells, so startled, he falls off the bed, taking you with him.

"Ahhhh!" You yell, still wrapped tight in Mal's arms.

Luckily, Mal lands on the bottom, getting most of the impact, while you land on top of him.

"Well, good morning to you too," Mal says, grumpily, rubbing his eyes.

"Mal! Why am I here?! What happened!?" You ask, worried sick.

"Calm down. I'll tell you all that stuff during breakfast… Now, go get in the shower. It'll help with the hangover." He instructs you. You nod and go to take a quick shower.

Ten minutes, later, you come out feeling a little bit better than when you first woke up, although you still have a headache. You walk into Mal's room to see he's laid out two aspirin and a glass of water for you on his dresser. There is also a tiny note.

'_Take these and come out when you're ready. I'm making breakfast. –Mal'_

You quickly swallow the pills, downing the water, and walk to his kitchen. You see him facing the stove, cooking something.

"Mal?" You ask, softly.

"Natara! Hey! I didn't hear you come out…" he said, absentmindedly laying his hand down…on a hot pan.

He lets out a girly shriek, and jerks his hand away, cursing. He holds his hand to his chest, then examines his fingers. He looks up to you, seeing you leaning against the doorframe, trying not to laugh.

"Shut up. It's not funny. I think I have a 3rd degree burn!"

You chuckle, and gently take his fingers in your own, examining them. He watches you with a serious face.

"It's not a 3rd degree burn. 1st if anything. It just looks a little red. You'll be okay," You say, letting go of his fingers and looking up. You realize that you're only about an inch away from his face. He lets out a sigh, blowing his minty breath in your face.

"You sure about that?"

"I am…" You're suddenly aware of how close your bodies have gotten. Your eyes find themselves looking into his deep cerulean ones, as he looks straight into yours. Your eyes quickly flicker down to his soft lips before going back to his eyes. He catches you though, and starts to lean in at the same time you do. Just as your about to brush lips, you notice something move behind him…

"Mal! The breakfast! It's on fire!" You exclaim, completely ruining the moment.

His eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Wha-" he turns around and you see his eyes widen. "Oh my God!"

Behind him, the food on the stove has erupted in flames! Mal grabs an oven mitt and starts trying to pat out the fire, but it just erupts into flames, also. He shrieks, and throws it on the ground, stomping the fire out.

You quickly run to his closet, and come back with a fire extinguisher. A few minutes later, the fire is finally extinguished and there is foam everywhere on Mal's stove.

You give him a bewildered expression. He replies with a sheepish one.

You shake your head, and put down the fire extinguisher.

"Well, now our breakfast is… dead. I'll just cook some more…" Mal said, turning around to get stuff out of the fridge.

"No!" You exclaim.

He turns around and looks at you. "You're probably right… I'm not that great of a cook, heh heh."

It's silent for a moment before he asks, "Well, I've got poptarts?"

Fifteen seconds later, he slides a paper plate with your poptart on it in front of you at his (kitchen) island. You sit down on a stool, watching him as he sits beside you.

"What?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," You blush, and face your food. A few seconds later you turn to him again.

"So… What happened last night?"

_**You are now Detective Mal Fallon:**_

As soon as the question comes out of her mouth, your mind flashes back to last night. Or, rather, what she was doing to you last night.

You clear your throat awkwardly, and shake your head, trying to get rid of your thoughts.

"Wha… What do you mean?"

"I mean, um.." she looks down at the ground, blushing. "Did we… You know…" she trailed off, awkwardly.

Your eyes widen with realization and you quickly say, "What?! No! No no no no no! Not at all. Nothing like that!" '_But we both kinda wanted to…' _You mentally add, then curse yourself for even thinking that.

She breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, good."

You furrow your eyebrows. '_Good?'_

She notices you furrowing your eyebrows and tries to cover herself up, "Uh, I mean. Not that I don't want to! I mean, I..I don't want to but… I'm not saying that you aren't good but… I… I'm just going to shut up now." She blushes hard, and looks at her breakfast.

You chuckle under your breath at her embarrassment., excitement flooding your eyes.

'_She said she wanted to! …And then right after she said she didn't but she was stuttering! That could mean something.' 'Wait, Mal. You can't be having these thoughts! You have a girlfriend! Who is probably going to kick your ass anyways for letting her stay over here. Oh, Mal Fallon. What have you gotten yourself into?' '…Why am I talking to myself?'_

Natara, still red, looks at your feet and asks, "Uh, so last night… Did I.. like, do anything embarrassing?'

"Besides flirt with a total creep and do the sprinkler in front of a whole bar of people? Nope." '_And tell me that you're secretly in love with me…'_

"Oh crap…" she groaned, putting her face in her hands.

"Hey, it's alright. I had your back. And I sure as hell made sure that creep didn't do anything to you," you shudder at the thought of what would have happened if you didn't show up when you did.

"Thank you Mal," she replies softly, bringing you out of your thoughts.

"For?"

"Being there for me…"

"Hey, that's what friends are for," you gulp, smiling slightly.

She smiles at you. "Is that all I did?"

"Uh, yeah. I think," you divert your gaze to your half-eaten breakfast.

"You uh… You told me what happened with Oscar, also."

Her head whips in your direction.

"What did I tell you?" she whispers quietly.

'_That you love me.'_

"He cheated on you and signed up for some internet dating sites while you two were engaged," you say through a clenched jaw.

"Oh…" she replies.

"Nat, if you want me to kill him, I swear I will. That son-of-a-bitch doesn't deserve to live after hurting you like that," you feel your eyes flashing angrily at the thought of Oscar.

Natara gently squeezes your bicep, bringing you out of your murderous thoughts, and you turn to look at her, jaw still clenched.

She reaches up and gently kisses your cheek, making your face soften and your jaw unclench.

"It's okay, Mal. You don't have to. I'm fine, really. I don't really think I ever loved him in the first place," she says with a small smile. Your mind flashes back to this exact conversation last night.

'_No… I'm in love with you.'_

"Really?"

She nods silently, looking deep into your eyes.

"Listen, I, uh. I better go. Thanks for letting me stay here last night, Mal," she breaks eye contact with you and slides off the stool.

"No problem," you walk her to the door.

"So, I guess I'll see you later?"

"Of course," you smile at her, as she walks out. Before she's even taken 5 steps, you quickly call out, "Hey Nat?"

She turns around and looks at you expectantly. "Yeah?"

"If you're not doing anything tonight, would you, uh. Would you like to go to dinner? We could go to Seans?" You ask hopefully. Her face breaks out in a smile before she nods her head.

"Sure. I'd like that," she looks at you one last time, before she starts to walk away again.

You close the door and brace yourself behind it, blowing out a breath of relief. You've already decided what you're going to do tonight. But before you put that plan into action, you have to get something done first…

COD~COD~COD

"You're breaking up with me?!" Your now ex-girlfriend, Selene shrieks at you.

You stand in her doorway, hoping that she doesn't pull out a gun on you, because that's how mad she looks.

"Yes… Yes I am. I'm pretty sure I just said that."

"Why?!" she hisses.

"Cause you're a bitch." You shrug, casually.

"It's because of her, isn't it?! Because of that whore!"

"Now, now. No need to talk about yourself so rudely…"

She tries to slap you, but you quickly grab her wrist.

"Violence is never the answer, my dear."

"You're breaking up with me because of her?! The Special Whore from the Freakin' Bitch Institute!"

"I don't think that's what FBI stands for…" She tries to slap you again, but you step back, so she only swats at air.

"Since when did you become so violent?" you smirk.

"Ugh, I hate you, Mal Fallon!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go on with the whole 'You'll regret this later on' message. Just get it over with." You yawn.

She sits there, fuming in anger. "I bet that hickey right there is from her, too, isn't it?!"

"Maybe, maybe not. Wouldn't you like to know." You smirk as she becomes red with anger.

"You-!"

"Listen, I'm just going to leave now. Bye Selene," you cut her off, opening the door, and walking away.

She puts her head in the open doorway and shouts, "You'll regret this, Mal Fallon!"

"I'm sure I will!" You say sarcastically, not even turning around.

You exit her apartment building with a smile on your face.

One thing down; one to go.

COD~COD~COD

Later, around midnight, you and Natara are back at your apartment. You had already gone out to eat, laughing and teasing each other the entire time, and went back to your place to sit around and watch movies. You had decided that you were going to tell her how you feel about her tonight. You don't think she was lying when she had drunkenly told you that she loved you. Why else would she make up something as serious as that? You decided that you were just going to take a chance and finally, try to be with her… When the right time came.

It was the ending of _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ (Natara's idea) where the two main characters were kissing in the rain.

You clear your throat awkwardly, watching Natara, who also looked uncomfortable.

A few minutes later, the movie was over.

"Well, that was cheesy," you say.

"It was not! I thought it was romantic!" she defends.

"Oh, come on. Kissing in the rain? That's so cheesy. As cheesy as you could get," you roll your eyes.

"You can't tell me that you never get atleast a little cheesy sometimes," she teased.

"I don't… If I want to tell a girl I love her, I just come out and say it." '_Lies.'_

"Have you told Selene yet?" she asks shyly, looking at me from under her eyelashes.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause I don't love her."

She raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I broke up with her today."

"What? Why?"

"Cause she's a bitch."

You notice that she tries to hide a smile.

"You say that so casually as if it's no big deal."

"Because it isn't. I don't like her, so I broke up with her."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not like it's your fault or anything." '_Actually, it is her fault that I don't like Selene. Not that I mind though.'_

She smiles and looks at her watch.

"It's midnight. I think I'm gonna head on home," she says, yawning, and getting off of the couch.

"Okay, let me walk you out," you stand up too, and open the door for her.

You both walk to her car, in your own thoughts.

"Bye Mal," she says, softly.

"Bye," you reply.

'_Ugh, I missed my chance again! Dang it! I can't let her get away again. I just can't. Just say it. Just tell her that you love her!'_

She's just about to step in her car, when you say, "I lied."

"What?" she asks, looking up at you.

You sigh, walk over to her side of the car, shut her door, grab her hand, and lead her to the sidewalk. You let it her hand go and watch as it falls limply to her side.

"This morning, when you asked me if you had done anything embarrassing. I lied."

"So, I didn't flirt with an old creep?" she asks, confused.

The corner of your lips turn up slightly. "No, you did do that."

"Then what?"

"You asked me if that was all you did. I lied when I said that was all."

"So? What did I do?" she asks, looking scared.

"You tried to kiss me." Her face rearranges into horror and she takes a step away from you.

"Mal, I'm so sorr-"

"But, I didn't let you because I didn't want to take advantage of you while you were drunk."

Her face relaxes and she breathes out a sigh of relief. "Thank you-"

"But now you're sober." You move closer to her. "So I can take advantage of you however I want."

"What are you talking about?" she asks, fear in her eyes, but she stands frozen.

"Last night…" You start. '_Here we go.'_

"You told me that you loved me." You take another step towards her.

Her face rearranges into nervousness and horror.

"M..Mal, I had so many drinks last night. That.. That was the alcohol talking!"

"Was it?" You raise an eyebrow. "Because I don't think that it was. I think you were absolutely serious. I know you love me Natara."

"But… No, I mean.. The beer.. and, and you…. And I couldn't have… I-" she stutters.

You quickly cross the space in between you two, grab her face, and silence her stuttering. Her lips meet yours halfway in a world-shattering kiss. At first, it starts off as a slow kiss. Your hands slide from her face, down to the small of her back. You pull her closer to you, leaving no space. She wraps her arms around your neck. Suddenly, you deepen the kiss and it becomes desperate, as if you two were going to die in the next two minutes. You begin to walk and Natara's back hits the passenger door of her car.

You press yourself against her, leaving no space in between the two of you. The kiss remains desperate, both of you kissing passionately. Your hands are on her hips, while hers grip the front of your shirt, bringing you impossibly closer. She then moves them to your head, gripping your hair. You pull away for a second, breathless, but Natara moves onto your neck, placing kisses all over it.

"My neck must taste fantastic," you whisper huskily. She pulls back and looks at you in confusion.

You turn your head and point to the hickey on your neck.

"This was your doing last night, Agent Williams." She giggles and places her lips on the exact same spot, sucking lightly, mostly likely making it darker.

After she was done, she pulled back. You pull her mouth towards yours and kiss her again.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this out here…" she says, pulling away.

"Who cares?" you answer, then kiss her desperately.

You gently nip at her lip, asking for entrance and she opens her mouth wide. Your tongue slips inside and begins to explore her mouth. Her taste explodes inside your mouth, as you massage her tongue with yours.

You don't seem to notice the car stop a few yards away. The window rolls down and out pops a familiar face, watching you two in disbelief.

There was a wolf-whistle and an exclamation of "WOAH! GET SOME MALLIGATOR! Look at you guys; sitting out here, getting freaky!"

You both pull away, quickly, in embarrassment. You scowl at the car.

"Kai! Go home!" you shout to him.

Inside you see Kai sticking his head out of the window, his eyes almost popping out of his skull and his mouth, smiling creepily.

He groans, sticks his head back in the car, and drives away.

You and Natara share a look of embarrassment. "Maybe we should-"

"Take this inside? Yes." You finish for her, grabbing her hand.

"That was so embarrassing!" she exclaims, cheeks red.

"At least it was Kai, and not some reporter. I can just see it now: '_Detective Mal Fallon of the SFPD and Special Agent Natara Williams of the FBI having a secret affair. District Attorney Oscar Santos: Wrecked.'"_ You smile down at her as she giggles.

Just as you two are about to go inside, you see the same car from earlier slowly cruise by. You look to see Kai grinning at you, knowingly, and wiggling his eyebrows. You roll your eyes at him, and walk in the door.

"YEAH! YOU TWO GO INSIDE AND MAKE SOME BADASS MALTARA LOVE BABIES!" Kai yells at you just before you close the door.

Just as you're getting to your apartment door, you check the halls to see no one is there, then whirl Natara around, and press her against the outside of your apartment door. You grab her face and kiss her desperately again.

"You couldn't have waited until we got inside?" she giggles at you.

"Nope," you reply before bringing her lips back to yours. You kiss passionately for what seems like years. You feel her take the hem of your shirt, and pull it up. You instantly help her and separate from her lips for a moment, taking your shirt off before throwing it to the floor and kissing her again. Her hands roam your chest and stomach, feeling your hard muscles and abs. '_If someone comes and sees us making out without any clothes on, they'll have a heart attack.' _You think to yourself. You search in your pants pocket for your key, and finally find it. Natara moves her hands from your abs, to around your neck, digging her nails into your back, as she explores your mouth.

"God, I love you Natara," You break away, breathing fast. Her eyes shine with love as she whispers, "I love you two."

Your lips crash into hers, for the millionth time that hour. You press against her and kiss her fast, but passionately. Blindly, you try and fit the key in the key hole, without such luck. Finally, you find the keyhole, push your key inside, and unlock the door, never breaking the kiss. You throw open the door and lead Natara inside.

You barely had time to kick the door closed before you continued what you both had started doing last night.

_**The** **End**_


	4. You Belong With Me

**Sorry you guys! Its been a busy week. Sorry but I can't type this weekend! I'm having a party (coincidence? Maybe..) and won't be able to type. I will next weekend though! I'll make it up to you... Somehow. :)  
**

**My CoD experiences this week:**

**During English class:**

**(The class is writing down the sentences that my teacher writes on the board.)**

**My teacher writes- Hal left his backpack on the bus.**

**(We thought this is what he put on the board. Dont hate. We sit in the very back of the classroom.)**

**what I wrote- Mal left his backpack on the bus.**

**What my friend wrote- Mal left his backyard on the bus.**

**:D**

**Then me watching TV this afternoon when suddenly a ProActive commercial comes on. This girl with red hair pops up on screen and guess what her name was.. Rebecca! I almost squealed.**

**Last one:**

**In English class again:**

**(Doing vocabulary words)**

**Teacher- Number 2! Connoisseur.**

**Me- :O no. Way.**

**Teacher-someone give me a random name to use it in this sentence.**

**Me- (hand pops up) pick me! Pick meeee!**

**Teacher- okay. Go ahead.**

**Me- Genevieve! Genevieve Collins! **

**Preacher- (looks at me weirdly) okay? Genevieve Collins is an infamous connoisseur.**

**Me- XD**

** Thanks to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter! Please review for this one! I made it extra long!**

**Enjoy! :)**

**You Belong With Me**

**Summary:**

"Stop looking so serious." My partner, Mal Fallon, bent his head down so I could look at him. We were currently sitting in his office, side by side, reviewing evidence for our newest case.

"What are you talking about?" I looked up from the folder full of papers and stared curiously at him.

"When you're profiling. Your face is so serious, like your dog just died kinda serious. Your eyes narrow and you stay stock still. You need to stop it cause it's freaking me out." He said seriously.

I rolled my eyes and went back to profiling. After a few more seconds, I heard, "Stop iiiiiiit. You're scaring me!"

"Mal, work on the case."

"I can't when you are just staring like that. What a creeper," he muttered, rolling his eyes. I knew he was just trying to lighten up the situation to get the seriousness off of my face.

A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

"Come on… There's that smile. Almost there…." He teased, poking the corner of my lips with the end of his pencil.

"No. Go back to work," I rolled my eyes and focused on the papers once again.

I noticed him frown out of the corner of my eye. He leaned in really close, mouth to my ear, and whispered, "If you don't smile, I'll scream that you're raping me."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah right."

"I will."

"No you won't."

"Don't believe me?"

"Not at all."

"Fine," he smirked at me. A little panic rose up in me. He wasn't really going to do it… Was he? He cleared his throat.

"NATARA! OH MY GOD, GET OFF OF ME! WAIT 'TILL WE GET HOME! WE'RE AT WORK RIGHT NOW! YOU CAN WAIT FOR A COUPLE OF MORE HOURS!" he yelled, loud enough for the whole precinct to hear.

Just about every head snapped in our direction, staring at us in shock.

I heard a few wolf-whistles (from what sounded like Blaise and Joe).

"It's about time!" I heard someone yell.

"Yeah! Get some Williams! He don't bite!" I blushed beet red.

"OH COME ON, NATARA. DON'T BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT OUR LOV-" Mal exclaimed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, before I cut him off by slapping my hand to his mouth, muffling his voice.

"Shut up!" I hiss whispered in his ear.

He shook his head and started moaning really loud, making people look at us again.

"Mal! People are staring!"

"Then smile. That's all I want you to do. Stop being so serious."

"Fine!" I said, before smiling really big for a moment.

"Thank you," he said, words muffled by my hand. I felt his smile under my fingers, so I removed my hand, showing his pearly white teeth. I felt my heart flutter at the sight. He was wearing true, genuine Mal Fallon smile. One that I hadn't seen in what felt like forever… Or since he started dating Selene.

"What in the name of Internal Affairs is going on here?!" Anders shouted, coming out of his office.

"Natara tried to rape me!" Mal answered, before I could slap my hand over his mouth.

Anders looked at me curiously for a moment, before shaking his head, and going back into his office.

"Wait! He's a liar! I didn't actually-And now you're gone," I said, watching him disappear.

"Mal!"

"Hmmmmm?"

"You're such a loser sometimes…" I muttered, shaking my head. He grinned at my response and tilted back in his chair, hands behind head.

"But you love me anyways."

I rolled my eyes but smiled. Maybe I did; maybe I didn't. It's not, like, obvious that I have a crush on him… Is it?

Suddenly, I heard a crash and a scuffle.

"OMG OMG OMG!" Kai squealed, skidding to a stop right in front of the door to Mal's office.

"DID I MISS IT?! DID I MISS THE MALTARA SMOOCH?!" He finally seemed to see us, then, and his excited face turns into one of sorrow. Mal and I exchange wary glances.

"_Maltara?" _Mal mouthed to me.

"_Smooch?" I mouthed back._

"AWWWWW MAN! I DID MISS THE MAKEOUT SCENE! CRAAAAAAAP! DANG IIIIIIT!" Kai whined like a 3-year old.

"What are you talking about, Kai?"

"I heard Mal yelling that Natara was attacking him-with love, of course- and I just had to come see, but Amy wouldn't let me go until I had transferred my Sims game from her computer to mine! DANG IT AMY! YOU MADE ME MISS THE KISS!" he yelled to her, annoyed.

"OH DARN!" we heard a tiny voice yell from the basement.

"Kai, as much as I like you yelling in my office, uh-Get out."

"But I haven't seen you guys kiss yet!"

"We never kissed in the first place!"

"Liars…"

"Kai, out. Now." Mal rolled his eyes.

"But I have nowhere else to go!"

"Go bother Jeremy or something."

"It's not the same!"

"Leave!"

"Fine!" Kai exclaimed, before running off.

Mal turned back to me. "So, like I was saying. You need to smile mor-" he was cut off by Kai peeping his head back in the doorway.

Mal sighed. "What do you want, Kai?"

"You guys are coming to my party tonight, right?"

"What party?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, and turning to look at Mal, who was also raising an eyebrow.

"C'mon, you guys! My annual party! Didn't you get that email that I sent you 2 minutes ago?!"

"Kai… We have lives. We don't check our emails every 5 seconds," Mal rolled his eyes.

"Ugh.. I simply cannot work with such losers," Kai looked up at the ceiling. Mal and I furrowed our eyebrows and looked at each other.

"What do you mean by tha-"

"Just check your emails… Like right now."

Mal and I slid out our phones and checked our emails.

"You're having a… Slumber party?" Mal asked, eyes wide.

"What? No! It's a pajama party."

"Why?"

"Because I always have cool parties every year! This year, you have to dress up in your pajamas.

"What if we sleep naked?" Mal smirked at Kai.

"Then come naked! Ladies will love that! Am I right? High five, 'ole buddy, 'ole pal!" Kai said, holding up his hand.

Mal just stared at Kai's hand, eyes furrowed. Kai slowly lowered it, rejected.

"Where's it at?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"The beach, like always. It's gonna be the best party ever! We're gonna have my world famous shish-KAI-bobs and a new addition to the KAI-tastic menu: ChicKAIn Wings!" he grinned widely.

"World famous?" Mal asked.

"Well, you know. World famous, California famous, San Francisco famous… Alright! They're just really good, okay?! Will ya stop bugging me?!" he exclaimed dramatically, before running away.

Mal and I laughed at Kai's random outburst and began to continue working.

After a few minutes of silence, Mal interrupted it with, "Why does the seagull fly over the sea?"

I sighed. He had already told this one fifty times, atleast. I decided to just humor him.

"Why?" I sighed.

"Because if it flew over the bay, it would be called a bagel!" he cracked up laughing at his corny joke while I just rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Natara! What do a kangaroo and a zucchini have in common?"

"What?"

"Neither of them can ride a bike!"

I giggled at him laughing his head off. Mal Fallon was quite the catch, but he sure liked to tell corny jokes.

"So are you going to Kai's party?" I asked.

"I dunno." He scrunched up his nose, "Sounds boring."

"Oh, c'mon Mal. All the other parties were fun."

"Hey, I'll go if you go."

"Perfect," I smiled at him. He smiled back before replying, "So are we gonna meet there or-" he was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing.

"Sorry, Nat. It's Selene. It will only be a minute, I promise." He quickly got out his phone and pressed it to his ear.

"Hey Selene. Can I call you back later? I'm sort of in the middle of something."

I could hear her annoying, high-pitched voice all the way down from San Diego, that's how loud she was.

"Where are you?" she demanded.

Ugh, I hated overly-possessive women… Especially when they were dating the guy that I had a crush on. I had tried to be friends with her (for Mal's sake) but she was always a jealous jerk, telling me to 'back off her man' so I just quit trying.

It's weird how possessive she can get when they've only been dating for a few weeks. She's only known Mal for about a month, but she acts like she owns him. She's got to know where he is, what he's doing, who he's with, and what he's wearing at all possible times. She hasn't even taken the time to get to know him.  
And me? I've known Mal way longer than she has. Mal and I had been partners for almost 2 years now. Sure, I hadn't known him as long as I'd like to, but I still know about him! I know his favorite color, favorite food, favorite type of music, things that he hates, how he works, what makes him jealous, things that make him smile, his facial expressions.. Heck, Mal and I know each other so well; we could have conversations with each other in our heads, without saying a word.  
My point is, I'm a way better match for him. He shouldn't be dating that overly-possessive girl, when he could be dating his best friend of 2 years, me!

"I'm at work. Listen Selene, can I call you back later-"

"With who?!"

"The people who work here…? I can't talk long; I've got to work."

"What are you doing?"

"Why are you asking all these questions?"

"Just answer! What. Are. You. Doing.?!"

"I just told you! I'm workin-"

"Fine, then! Don't tell me! You're probably cheating on me anyways!"

Oh God, here we go again with the whole 'cheating blame game.'

"Oh yeah, I'm just sitting in my office, on my desk, having sex with Natara," he muttered sarcastically.

My cheeks instantly blushed hard, so I shielded my face, hoping he couldn't see me.

"He.. Hello? Selene? …Did she seriously just hang up on me?!" he muttered, snapping his phone shut.

"You okay?" I asked, shyly.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm fine. Just tired of her taking everything so seriously. I mean, why would I even answer her if I was cheating on her? Like, if I don't answer the phone, then she automatically thinks I'm cheating on her. If I don't text her back within 5 minutes, I'm cheating on her. It drives me insane"

"Sounds to me like she's got trust issues."

"Yeah, I guess so," he murmured, rubbing his face, tiredly.

'_And that's exactly why you need to break up with her and get with me_!' I thought, but bit my tongue.

"So, uh. Back to the case," he said, happy mood now gone.

"Oh, right, um. So, Ashley Holder. Age: Seventee-" I was cut off by Mal's cell phone ringing.

"Keep going. It's just Selene. I'll call her back in a minute."

"You sure?" I said, thrilled on the inside he would ignore his girlfriend's call to listen to me.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Anyways, Seventeen. Dark brown hair with gray eyes. She was shot in the chest twice, and there seemed to be sign of a strugg-" I was cut off again, by Mal's cell phone.

"Do you wanna answer that?" I sighed, annoyed with Selene.

"Do you mind?" he asked, trying not to make me mad.

"Go ahead…" I sighed, again, leaning back in my chair to wait.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed before opening his phone.

"Hello?" he barely got out before the screaming started.

"HOW DARE YOU MAL FALLON!" Selene screamed into the phone. Mal pulled a face and held the phone away from his ear, but we could still hear her screaming.

"I was just jokin-" Mal tried to explain but the diva cut him off.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ARE CHEATING ON ME!"

"Selene, I was just-"

"WE'RE THROUGH!"

"No! I was kiddi-"

"AND THAT'S WHY I'M CHEATING ON YOU, ALSO!"

My eyes widened. She was cheating on him?!

"What?! Selene, I was joking!" he got out quickly before she could interrupt.

"Oh… well it wasn't funny! You really scared me, teddy bear!" I inwardly rolled my eyes at the ridiculous pet name.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise. I was only kidding," he apologized. She didn't deserve a guy as sweet as him. No other guy would apologize for as something as stupid as that.

"Good."

"…Wait, are you really cheating on me?!" Mal blurted. Is it bad that I wanted her to say yes?

"…O…Of course not, sweety. Gotta go, bye!" she said quickly, before hanging up. He frowned and closed his phone.

"So, uh. Where were we?"

"Talking to your idiot girlfriend," I muttered, low enough for only me to hear.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Oh nothing. Let's just get back to the case," I gave him a fake smile and started working again.

"Actually, I'm pretty tired of this case."

I looked up at him questionably. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'm really craving a Heaven in a Scoop right now," he said, grinning at me.

Now that he mentioned it…. No! "No! We can't leave work! We're not done doing this paperwork!"

"Oh c'mon. You and I both know we don't have any leads so far. Plus, I know by the look on your face that you're craving one too," he nudged me with his elbow, knowingly.

"Well…."

"Come on! Please? We haven't been there in weeks! Please?" he pouted at me.

"…Fine. But if we get fussed out for leaving work early, you're taking the blame."

"No, no, no, Ms. Williams," he said, shaking his head and grabbing his jacket and car keys from his desk. "If I go down, you go down with me. We go down together as partners, remember?"

"That's only when we're going to, like, face a dangerous serial killer and we're about to die or something."

"It's going to be the same situation when Anders realizes that we left work early."

I chuckled and led the way to his car.

Twenty minutes later, Mal and I sat in a tiny booth at our favorite ice cream place, **Grandmaw Annie's Ice Creamery**.

"-and then the 'mysterious girl' turns around and we realize that 'she' is actually a man!" Mal finished his story, making me burst out laughing.

"You're kidding! So all that time, Diego was hitting-"

"On a man?!" we both finished at the same time, bursting out laughing in the quiet place.

A little old woman shuffled up to our small booth and smiled at us warmly.

"Well, if it isn't my two best customers! On another date tonight?" she smiled at us, knowingly.

"Not quite Grandmaw Annie," we both said in unison, cheeks burning.

"Oh you two are such liars! I know your little secret. Don't worry. My lips are sealed," she said, winking at us.

Mal and I laughed awkwardly, looking down at the white surface of our table.

"So, what can I get you two? The usual?"

"Yes please…"

She smiled at us, before shuffling back to behind the counter.

**Grandmaw Annie's Ice Creamery** was a little ice cream shop, almost in the middle of nowhere. Mal and I just happened to stumble across it one day. Ever since that day, this had been our place. The place usually had only few people in the shop every day. Only a few stragglers would stumble upon it every once and awhile. I don't see how, though. This place had the best ice cream I had ever tasted.  
The shop was tiny and quaint. It looked like an old timey 50's diner, with black and white checkered floors and plush red booths along the walls.  
There was only one hard worker here, Grandmaw Annie, the owner. There was one other person who worked at the register; Lauren, Grandmaw Annie's granddaughter, but Lauren hardly ever showed up.  
Grandmaw Annie had pale, white skin, with snowy white hair to match. She always wore a black apron with her hair tied back into a bun. She made everyone call her Grandmaw Annie, just because she was so used to it. She wouldn't answer to anything but that name.  
Mal and I had been here so many times that she had began to memorize our order, which Mal and I called '_Heaven in a Scoop.' _Every single time Mal and I would come here, Grandmaw Annie would tease us endlessly, saying that 'she knew our secret' and 'she wasn't going to tell anyone.' She was more than positive that Mal and I were secretly dating behind everyone's backs, so that was why we kept coming back here, just the two of us.

A few seconds later, Grandmaw Annie came back out of the small kitchen, carrying a large bowl and two desserts wrapped in plastic.

Mal eyed the food hungrily, eyes sparkling, as she placed it in front of us.

"Here you go; your 'usual.'" she said, smiling.

"Thank you," we both said.

"You're welcome, kids. If ya need more, just holler at me, alright?" she told us, before walking off.

Mal took the desserts and unwrapped them, revealing two giant cookies. And when I say giant cookie, I mean giant cookie. It was literally about as long as my hand.

He held them up towards the light, examining them.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Checking to see which one is bigger…Here you take this one. It's smaller," he grinned at me, holding out the smaller one.

I rolled my eyes but took it nonetheless.

Just as I was about to bite into it, he swiped it away from my hand.

"What?" I asked.

"Did you really think I would take the bigger one for myself?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, while placing the bigger one in my hand.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course I am. Wouldn't be giving you the bigger one if I wasn't," he shrugged, breaking off the side of the cookie, dipping it into the bowl of ice cream, then popping it into his mouth.

I grinned at his sweetness and copied his movements.

_Heaven in a Scoop _is just a nickname Mal and I called for our traditional food. We got 2 giant cookies and a big bowl of vanilla ice cream. We'd break off pieces of the cookie, dip it in the ice cream, then eat it. At first, I thought it was going to be completely gross, but once I tried it, I really liked it.

"So," I started, before popping a large chunk of chocolate chip cookie in my mouth.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"How are you and Selene?" I asked conversationally.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I was just asking how you guys were. How's the relationship coming? It seemed you guys were in a disagreeable state back at the station."

Mal smiled slightly at me. "Nat, you can say 'fight.'"

"Okay, then. If that's what you want to call it. I didn't want to say anything just in case I looked insanely stupid if I was wrong…" I mumbled, looking down at the ice cream.

He chuckled lowly and threw another piece in his mouth.

"…are you okay?" I asked, looking up to meet his gaze.

He sighed tiredly and dragged his free hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I guess so. Just… Tired of drama, you know?"

"Oh… I'm sorry," I murmured, looking down once again.

He just shrugged. "Don't be. It's not your fault," he said, smiling a little.

"So, uh. What ever happened with you and Oscar?" he asked curiously.

"Oh that," I shrugged. "I broke it off with him," I replied, grabbing a spoon and dipping it into the ice cream, now filled with cookie crumbs.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know really. I guess I just realized that he, um… He wasn't the right guy for me," I blushed slightly.

"Huh," he added thoughtfully.

He copied my movements, dipping his spoon in the ice cream before continuing. "How'd you know?"

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.

"How did you know that he wasn't the one?"

"Well… Um, I. Er…I just… don't feel anything towards him. When he held my hand or kissed me, I didn't feel anything. Nothing at all, so I decided that he wasn't the one for me."

"Wow," he breathed out for a second, laying his spoon down, and staring at me in wonder.

"What?" I asked, a slight blush creeping up.

"You're just so calm about it. I would've figured you'd be bawling your eyes out by now…"

I shrugged. "Like I said. I didn't feel anything. Plus, I have feelings for somebody else anyways," I murmured the last part low, hoping he couldn't hear me but he did.

"Like who?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" I tried to act clueless.

"Who do you have feelings for?"

"Noone?"

"You just said that you have feelings for somebody else!"

"I did?"

"Yes! You did!"

"Hm…"

"Come on, Natara. Tell me. Please?"

"Um, no."

"I'm your best friend! I swear I won't tell anyone."

"You can't know."

"Why?"

"…Cause it's someone we know."

"Like who? Kai?"

"What? NO!"

"Redbird?"

"Nooooo."

"Diego?"

"Uh, no."

"Anders?"

"Ew, no!"

"Shawn?"

"He's in a coma?"

"Bartaugh?"

"He's married!"

"Tell me!"

"No."

"Natara!"

"Mal!"

"Please!"

"No way."

"Ughhh."

"This ice cream is really good."

"Fine then; don't tell me."

"Good, cause I won't," I smirked at his defeated face. I can't believe he still hasn't figured it out yet. He absolutely clueless. Mal Fallon, the world's first clueless detective.

"Is it that Martinez guy?"

"N-O."

He was quiet for a moment. He looked down at the table and muttered, "Is it me?"

I gulped. Oh gosh, what do I say? Do I go ahead and confess to him, or do I lie and be lonely for the rest of my life. I didn't want to confess to him like this!

Fortunately/Unfortunately, Grandmaw Annie decided to show up at that exact minute.

"Are you two full?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Did you have a good time?"

Mal laughed, "We always have a good time here."

"Glad to hear it. Now, here's your check."

Mal and I both glanced at each other.

"You're paying!" we shouted at the same exact time.

~_**CoD~ ~CoD~ ~CoD~**_

I stepped out of my car and headed for the large light that was bound to be from the bonfire.

As soon as my feet touched the sand, I smiled, ready to see Mal.

He had offered to drive me here, but considering the fact that Selene was invited, it wouldn't look great, seeing us come in together. She would probably make a big scene about it in front of everybody anyways.

A few seconds later, I walked into where the party was going on. I saw several of my coworkers, all dressed in pajamas, but I couldn't spot him anywhere. Kai had the music pumped up loudly, so I could barely hear what was going on.

"Looking for someone? Perhaps a certain handsome detective?" a smooth voice came from behind me.

I turned around and instantly smiled at my partner's beaming face.

"Nice PJS," he commented, looking me up and down with his eyes. He had on a plain white T-shirt, showing off his perfect abs, and some gray, plaid pants.

"You look nice," I said, giggling, pointing to his messy brown hair.

"Thanks, I just woke up from a nap before coming here. Wouldn't have to get up if I wasn't going but somebody made me go," he said, looking directly at me.

"You wanted to come too," I rolled my eyes at him, but grinned.

"Malligator! Hottie Boom Bottie! Glad you guys could make it!" Kai came up behind me, shouting over the loud music.

"Kai… What are you wearing?!" Mal asked, trying not to laugh.

"They're pajamas! What do you think?!"

Kai was wearing Star Wars themed footie pajamas and Darth Vader slippers, that breathed everytime you put weight on it.

"You look… Great, Kai. Just fabulous," I encouraged him, giving a thumbs-up.

He grinned at me, then walked off, to go chat with some other guests.

"Geez, this is crazy, don't you think? I've never seen so many people in pajamas before," I spoke up after a few seconds.

"I know! It's insane!"

"Who knew people would dress like this to sleep in?"

"I swear some dude came completely naked with only a bed sheet wrapped around their bottom," Mal laughed in amusement.

I giggled. "You're kidding right?"

"Natara, I wish I was," he said seriously, before his face broke out into a large smile.

"So, um. Have you seen Selene?" he asked.

"No, she didn't ride here with you?"

"No, she told me that she would drive here because she had a few extra things to do at work. She said she'd be here around 11 but she's still not here yet," he said, frowning at his cell phone, which he had pulled out.

"I, uh. I think I found her," I said, pointing to his girlfriend, who was most likely flirting with a few other people around the campfire.

He looked in the direction I was pointing at.

"Oh my God," he said, hiding his face with his hand and looking away, embarrassed.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Do you not see what she has on?" he whispered, looking anywhere but at her.

I looked over there again and my eyes widened in shock.

Over on the other side of the bonfire, a little ways over from us, was Selene flirting with a bunch of guys, who were all looking at her with lust filled eyes.

She was dressed in scantily clad, pale purple lingerie. It looked as if she had a purple bra on, a light see-through piece of fabric going over her stomach, and purple underwear to match. I almost threw up the Heaven in a Scoop I had earlier.

I quickly looked away and back at Mal.

"Is that what she wears to sleep?!"

"How should I know?"

"You're her boyfriend!"

"Yeah, but I've never slept with her!"

"….you haven't?"

"No, why would I?"

"I…I don't know. I mean, you're an attractive male; she's an attractive female. I just thought…" I trailed off, looking away, cheeks burning.

"No. We're not, uh. Like that. Especially after we've only been together for a week," he muttered, looking away awkwardly.

"You think I'm attractive?" he asked, out of the blue, looking at me curiously.

"Wait, what? You-uh. I mean, sure. It's just, I-… I will shut up now," I mumbled, trying to hide my flaming cheeks.

He chuckled and looked towards the bonfire.

"Well, um. It seems like those other guys are enjoying her choice of wardrobe," I said, gaze averting back to the small crowd around Selene.

'_Why isn't he over there with them? A bunch of guys and his hot girlfriend. Instead, he's just sitting here with boring, old me. I just don't understand what is making him stay here and hang out with me.'_

'_Selene looked beautiful with lingerie on, even though we were in a public place. But me?'_

I looked down at myself. I just wore an old, baggy, grayT-shirt with Grantmore University written across it in big, white letters. I also had on some plain, blue, plaid pajama pants on.

'_I have nothing on her.'_

He covered his face with his hands and groaned.

"I can't believe she wore that."

"What? You should be wanting to go over there and screw her in front of everybody!"

"Trust me; I'd rather screw you in your T-shirt than her in her lingerie..." he muttered. I instantly blushed.

"Want me to give her my T-shirt?" I asked, jokingly.

"Depends…"

"On?"

"Do you have another shirt under that one?" he smirked.

I shook my head. "No?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Then give me the shirt," he said eagerly, eyes lighting up in amusement, reaching for the hem of my shirt. I smacked his hand away just as it brushed over my stomach, sending tingles the whole way.

"I was kidding!" I exclaimed.

"I wasn't. Now give me the shirt."

"You're such a pervert."

"Only for you, dearest," he batted his eyelashes at me, grinning widely.

I rolled my eyes, "Why don't you give her your shirt?"

"Cause then I'd be…. Indecent," he suggested, wiggling an eyebrow.

"Seriously? You'd just have your shirt off. It's not like you sleep with it on, anyways."

"How'd you know that I slept with my shirt off?"

"Most guys sleep shirtless," I shrugged.

Mal smirked at me evilly. "Or you're just a stalker."

My mouth popped open in protest. "I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Shut up," I muttered, making Mal laugh loudly.

"Fiiiiine. Your wish is my command, Princess. Guess I'll have to take this off," he said, pulling the hem of his white shirt to his chest slowly, showing off his abs.

I blushed hard and looked away, trying not to stare at his perfectly toned muscles. As I looked away, I saw more than half the women on the beach staring at Mal (who was almost completely shirtless) lustfully.

"No, you know what? Let's just keep the shirt on. Selene will be fine," I said, grabbing the hem of his shirt and yanking it down, where his bare chest couldn't be seen anymore. There were several groans from the watching women. I glared at all of them, challenging them to say another word.

I looked up to see Mal smirking at me.

"Having a hard time trying not to stare?" he asked, teasingly.

"I'm not but they are," I pointed to the women crowd, who were still watching us as if Mal would take his shirt off again.

He chuckled. "You are so hard to impress, Williams."

"I know. Profilers suck, right?" I grinned up at him, while he laughed.

"ARE YOU PARTY PEOPLE HAVING FUN?!" I heard Kai shout over the microphone.

There were several 'whoo's in reply.

"Alright! We're going to do something a little differently. We're gonna make a makeshift club and dance floor! Everybody grab a partner and start shufflin'!" he exclaimed, then turned up the music to a fast paced song.

I watched as couples grabbed each other and headed out to random spots to start dancing.

After a few awkward seconds of just standing there, Mal finally faced towards me. This was it. He was going to ask me!

"Hey, um. Nat. Would you like to, uh. Do you wanna danc-" he was cut off by a sharp squeal.

I involuntarily groaned when I realized who that squeal belonged to.

"Mal! I didn't realize you were here already, honey! I've been so worried!"

"I'm sure you have been," you barely hear him mutter.

"Come on! I want to dance!"

"But, I don't want to dan-"

"Yes you do! You're coming to dance with me whether you like it or not. Or did you want to dance with Natara?" she sneered at the mention of my name.

"Um, you do realize that I'm RIGHT HERE right?!" I interjected before she could say another one.

"Whatever. Come on. Let's dance!" she squealed, tugging on his hand with shocking strength. It surprised him so much, he almost tripped when she started to drag him to the dance floor.

I sighed and walked over to the bar, sat down on the stool, and picked up a drink with a little umbrella in it.

I, sadly, looked around at all the other dancing couples. A little ways down the beach, I thought I saw Blaise and Jeremy dancing together. I swear, I was probably the only one here, not dancing. Well, except for Kai, who was pigging out on a shish-KAI-bob. I looked over and saw Selene and Mal. She had her hand hooked around his neck and was steadily grinding against him. I pulled a face and looked up to Mal, who was standing stock still, a horrified expression on his face.

He looked up to me and mouthed, "Help me before she rips my clothes off!"

I giggled at him and shrugged my shoulders. "Why should I do that? You should be enjoying this."

He pouted at me. "Please?"

"No."

"Do you want to see me to get arrested?! By my own friends!?"

"Sucks for you."

"Natara please."

I contemplated for a moment. If I could get Selene to leave, maybe Mal and I would finally get a chance to dance. But how would I do that?

I sighed and mouthed back, "You owe me."

"Thank you!" he mouthed, relief flashing across his face.

Now, what's the best way to get rid of the one I love's girlfriend?

I looked around, searching for an idea. I spotted Kai over in the corner, stuffing his face with food. I smirked evilly.

'_This is for trying to steal my man.' _I silently thought to her.

"Hey Kai!" I exclaimed, getting off of my stool.

His head snapped up in my direction, excitement all over his face. He quickly threw down his food and sprinted up next to me, making his Darth Vader slippers breathe loudly.

"What's up, Hottie Boom Bottie?" he asked, wiping some barbecue sauce off of his mouth with his Star Wars sleeve.

"You know Selene, Mal's girlfriend, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, real hottie," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "What for?"

I rolled my eyes at his comment, but kept speaking. "Well, she told me earlier that she loved to play the sims and she had dozens of cheat codes, but no one to share them with…" I trailed off, watching his face turn to excitement.

"Must. Learn. Cheat. Codes!" he squealed, running off in the direction where Selene was still grinding against a horrified Mal.

I watched in triumph as Kai grabbed her arm that was hooked around Mal's neck and pulled her away from Mal as he started talking to her. Mal looked at Kai confusingly, then back to me. I nodded in confirmation. He grinned and speed walked to where I was sitting at the bar.

"Thank you," he sighed in relief, sitting on a stool next to me.

"Kai is going to be bothering Selene for a while begging her for cheat codes so…you're welcome."

He smiled, "I really owe you one, Nat."

"More like 5."

He laughed and sat back against the bar, observing the other dancers.

"So… Why aren't you dancing with anyone?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "Because."

"Because why?" he prodded on.

"I just don't want to."

"Oh really? I think different because I've been watching this beautiful special agent sitting over here, looking as lonely as ever."

"Well, maybe she just doesn't like dancing," I stubbornly replied.

He grinned at me before taking my hand and pulling me to stand up.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"We're going to dance, of course."

"Why?"

"Because you've been a Debby Downer this whole time. Plus, you're not having any fun just sitting at the bar, alone."

"What if Selene sees us?"

"She won't. Kai's keeping her busy for me."

"Mal, I don't know how to dance," I sharply whispered as he started pulling me out to the dance floor.

"I'll teach you," he replied, stopping at an open space on the dance floor.

"But I don't like dancing!" I complained.

"Yes you do. You just haven't found the right dance partner yet." He said, smiling down at me, making me heart melt.

"O-okay," I mumbled.

He cleared his throat and bowed slightly. "May I have this dance, M'lady?" He held out his right hand, waiting for me to take it.

I giggled and slowly put my hand in his. "Of course you may."

He grinned down at me, tightening the hold on my one hand a little. Using his other hand, he gently grabbed one of my arms and draped it around his neck, looking into my eyes the whole time. Then, he slowly and tenderly, put his other arm around my waist, never breaking eye contact.

"You gotta come closer. I swear, I don't have cooties," he smirked at me, looking down at the wide space in between us.

I rolled my eyes and scooted in just a tad.

"Don't be shy. It's just me," he smiled encouragingly as I took one half-of-a-step closer, still leaving a lot of space in between us.

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes.

"Come on now. Much closer than that," he moved the hand on my waist to the small of my back and pulled me towards him, so there was just a little space left in between us.

"Now that's more like it," he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my back.

I chuckled nervously.

"Rule #1. All you have to do is sway," he said, putting his hand on my waist once again. We both gently started to sway to the beat of the slow song that was playing on the speakers.

"Step left, together. Step right, together. Left, together. Right, together. See? Easy, huh?" he whispered, as we turned around in small circles.

"I guess so," I laughed nervously, looking down at my feet.

"Rule #2. Always keep eye contact with your dance partner," Mal murmured, lifting my head up with his finger. My eyes immediately met his.

"Then how will I know where to go?"

"Just trust me," he whispered.

"I do..."

After a few seconds he spoke again.

"Now, we're going to change positions," he explained. He brought my hand that was in his up to his neck.

"Wrap your arms around my neck," he instructed. I nodded and did so.

"For this we have to get even closer."

He placed his hand on the small of my back and pulled me even closer, making every inch of me press into him. I gasped, surprised.

"What? I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered, placing his hands around my waist.

"I know."

After a few seconds, I sighed contentedly and rested my head against his shoulder. He gently started to sway us.

"You know, at first I was hesitant about dancing but now I see that it's kind of fun," I whispered, knowing that he would hear me.

I could just imagine him grinning, "See? I told you."

"Or maybe it's just because I have a great dance partner…"

He let out a soft chuckle that made my heart flutter.

"You're not so bad yourself, Agent."

I smiled but stayed silent. This was absolutely perfect. Everything I'd ever dreamed of. I didn't focus on the other people slow dancing around us or the soft rustle of the wind, or even the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. The only thing that I could focus on was Mal's strong arms holding me to him, the soft slow song playing in the background, and the sweet smell of his cologne going up my nostrils with every breath I took.

All too soon, the song ended, though Mal and I stayed wrapped in each other's arms.

"Mal! Sweetheart! Where are youuuu?" I heard the most annoying voice cry out. I pulled away quickly, feeling cold where Mal's body heat had left my body.

Mal instantly groaned and shot me a sad look saying, "I don't want to leave this spot."

"Go on. Go find her. She's probably looking for you anyways…" I murmured, looking at the ground.

"But I don't want to go," he whispered. I looked up and his eyes met mine, looking sad.

"Oh there you are, Mally-pooh! I didn't know where you went!" Selene exclaimed, stepping in between Mal and I.

I furrowed my eyebrows at her, angrily. This was supposed to be my special moment and _she _was ruining it!

"Come on, Mal! Another slow song is coming up. Let's dance," she said, taking his hand and pulling him away from me.

He looked back at me with sorrow filled eyes.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed.

I just shrugged, smiled sadly, and went to go sit at the bar once again.

I watched as Selene grabbed Mal's arm, wrapped them around her waist, and pressed herself against him tightly, almost knocking him down.

I sighed and sat down on the stool, looking at the other couples furiously.

I felt someone come up beside me and sit down.

"Sucks not having a dance partner, am I right?" the man beside me said.

I nodded in agreement.

"I'm Brian. Brian Lancaster. Nice to meet you," he said, putting out his hand for me to shake it.

I eyed it wearily before cautiously placing my hand in his own. "Natara Williams."

"Well, Natara Williams. Why are you sitting here all alone?"

I just shrugged. "Good question."

He cleared his throat. "Well, since we're both alone… Do you wanna dance?"

I scrutinized him for a minute before nodding my head.

"Sure, why not." I replied. Hopefully if I'm dancing with him, it'll distract me from watching Mal and Selene.

I took his hand as he led me out to the dance floor. He stopped at an empty space and wrapped his arms loosely around my waist.

I put my arms around his neck and started to sway slightly.

It felt weird dancing with Bryan. He was just so loose, placing space in between us, making it awkward. Dancing with Mal just… felt right. It felt right to be pressed against him and for him to hold me tightly.

"Um, is your boyfriend going to kill me for asking you to dance?" Brian asked, nervously.

"Boyfriend?" I asked, confused. He nodded to where Mal and Selene were dancing. Well, where Selene was dancing on Mal. As she swayed from side to side, while turning around in circles, Mal was watching us intently. Selene was trying to talk to him and get his attention but his eyes were glued to me and Brian, jealousy clouding over his features.

"Oh no. Mal's not my boyfriend. He's just a friend," I assured him.

"Are you sure? Cause he looks like he wants to rip my head off," he replied, looking over at Mal, who was giving him the death glare.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's just over protective…"

"I already got that. He's watching us like a hawk," he swallowed nervously, pulling me closer to him.

I looked over at Mal, to see him still watching us, but with a sad expression on his face.

I felt bad. Almost like I was cheating on him. But we weren't even dating, so I shouldn't feel this guilty. He's dancing over there with Selene anyways. He's already got a woman so I shouldn't feel bad. But yet, I still did. I swallowed all my guilt and pulled even closer to Brian. I decided that I was going to enjoy this moment.

I looked over to see Selene trying to get Mal's attention once again. She followed Mal's line of focus directly to me. She fumed for a second before kissing him on his cheek, earning his attention back.

I pulled a face and looked away quickly. I tightened my hold on Brian and placed my head in the crook of his neck, so I wouldn't look up to see the disgusting sight.

"Is something wrong?" he asked me.

"No. No. Everything is fine…" I assured. But everything wasn't fine. I felt as if I was going to puke at any second, but I forced it back down. I couldn't just puke all over poor Brian, so I settled for silently gagging.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks," I said, resting my head on his shoulder.

"You're a great dancer," he said, changing the subject.

"Thanks. I had a good teacher," I said, smiling lightly.

During our conversation, I didn't see that Mal had finally given into his frustration. I also didn't see how he let go of Selene, telling her that he needed to do something and how he ran to the other side of the beach, where Brian and I were.

"Excuse me, can I cut in?" I heard straight behind me. I straightened up to see Mal fuming, and silently challenging Brian to even dare say 'no.'

"Uh, sure?" Brian said, confusingly, and letting go of me.

Mal fixed him with a glare.

"You can leave now," Mal snapped harshly, positioning himself in between Brian and I, protectively.

"Of, uh. Of course. I'll see you later, Natara," he said, before speed walking away.

Mal protectively pulled me closer to him, pressing every inch of me against him again, and put his arms around my waist.

"Rule #3. Don't dance with losers like him," he instructed as I draped my arms around his neck once more.

"Mal Fallon! Are you, dare I say it… Are you jealous?" I asked, smiling teasingly.

"No!" he exclaimed stubbornly.

"Oh really? Because I've been seeing this handsome detective watching me with a sad expression ever since I started dancing with Brian," I teased, using his speech from earlier.

"Psh, me? What? No. Never. I don't know what you're talking about. You're hallucinating! Who knew the FBI Agent would be such a crazie? Okay, maybe just a little bit…" he murmured, looking at the ground, sheepishly.

I grinned and lifted up his head with my finger.

"Rule #2. Always make eye contact with your dance partner," I said.

He let out a soft chuckle and pulled me even closer, starting to sway while moving in small circles.

I unwrapped my arms from his neck, placed them softly on his chest, and laid my head right above my hands, but under his head. He tightened his strong arms around my waist, trapping me there, just in case I was trying to pull away. When he realized that I wasn't pulling away anytime soon, he rested his chin on the top of my head, still gently swaying. Another perfect moment. I felt as if I was floating in air. I realized that I loved this man with all my heart. Even if he was taken by some psychotic woman. Even though he makes the corniest jokes ever. Mal Fallon was my one and only true love… If only I could get him to realize that, too.

"Actually, to be honest, I was crazy jealous," he whispered in my hair. "I just had this weird thought that I didn't want you dancing with anyone except me…" he admitted.

I smiled and pressed my face into his chest.

"I just feel so protective over you…" he continued. "It's like I'm an overprotective brother…"

I frowned at that. Ugh, sister-zoned. He thought of me like a sister? I felt like the complete opposite… He was nothing like a brother to me. I mean, we could try incest…? Ew, no. Just no. I can't believe I just thought that. I wrinkled my nose.

"-But I don't think of you like a sister." He finished.

I kept my head in his chest, waiting patiently. Was he going to say it? Did he actually return my feelings?

"But I think of you way more than just a best friend…" he murmured. I imagined him furrowing his eyebrows. I felt his chin leave my forehead as he straightened up.

Say it. Just say it. _'I think of you more like a lover.' _C'mon, Mal. Just eight small, simple words.

After he didn't say anything for a few seconds, I looked up, into his deep cerulean eyes.

"Then what do you think of me as?" I whispered hopefully.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," he mumbled, looking deep into my eyes with intensity.

I hadn't realized how close we were. Or rather, how close our faces were. We were a mere few centimeters apart, every breath we exhaled mingling together.

"Well, maybe you should figure that out," I whispered, finding myself leaning in with every word. He followed, suit.

"I know," he said, lips almost barely brushing mine. I felt my eyes softly flutter closed as I braced myself for what was (finally) about to happen.

Just as our lips were about to brush, I heard an annoyingly voice clear loudly from behind us.

"Excuse me, can I interrupt this dance?" Didn't they see that we were, I dunno, kind of busy?!

I saw Selene standing there, face red in anger, crossing her arms. If this were a cartoon, she'd have smoke blowing out of her ears.

"Uh, sure," I mumbled, backing away quickly. I hated myself for being so vulnerable right then.

She smirked in triumph and stepped up to Mal, putting her arms around his neck. Mal furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at me with a sorrow expression.

She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw me standing there, looking at the ground nervously. What she did next, well, I wanted to chop her head off.

She brought Mal's head down lower and kissed him passionately on the lips. He stood there, frozen like a block of ice. I felt bile rise up to my throat, but I tried to push it down. I didn't know whether to cry or to puke. So I settled for neither. I felt tears come to my eyes. No, I couldn't cry now. Not in front of everybody. Especially not in front of her. Then, she'd know that she had won. I felt the tears leak down my cheeks. I turned around and sprinted up the beach, towards my car, ready to go home, eat ice cream until I burst while watching old, sad, romantic movies, whilst crying my heart out.

I could just barely see my car up ahead. What I couldn't see though, was what happened back on the beach.

_**~Mal's P.O.V~**_

I, finally unfrozen from shock, quickly jerked away from Selene.

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed.

"What? I can't kiss my own boyfriend?" she asked.

"Not after you've been flirting with every guy on the beach!"

"What's your problem!? I saved you from kissing that whore! You should be thanking me!" she exclaimed shrilly.

"Just… We'll talk about this later," I said, turning my head in the direction that she was running. I could just barely see her coffee colored hair running towards the few parking spaces. I was about to take off after her, when Selene grabbed my arm.

"Where do you think you're going?! You're not actually going to chase after her!" she narrowed her eyes at me.

"I'll be back in just a second!" I exclaimed before twisting out of her grip, and sprinting as fast as I could up the beach. I was not about to let her get away again.

Just as I got to the parking spaces, I slowed to a stop, looking around for her car.

I finally found her car. Except it was speeding down the highway.

I finally stopped, looking at the retreating vehicle with sad eyes.

"Wait… Nat," I mumbled, staring after it longingly.

_**~Natara's P.O.V~**_

An hour and a half later, I was eating my last scoop of cookie dough ice cream, wrapped up tight in a blue blanket that my mother had gotten me years ago, used tissues surrounding me, and watching _Titanic _on the movie channel.

I sighed and clicked the TV off. I, the tough FBI Profiler, was sitting here, acting like a pathetic, heart broken puppy dog, and feeling sorry for myself. I shook my head in disappointment, turned on my IPod, picked up the tissues (with disgust), and walked into the kitchen, putting my bowl away.

I bitterly laughed at the song that was playing. _Ain't No Mountain High Enough_ by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell was playing. The exact type of music that Selene couldn't stand. I turned it up a little, rejoicing in the fact that she hated this type of music while I loved it. What a weird noncoincidence. This was a love song. I was definitely not feeling the love. More like the complete opposite.

Suddenly there were a few, sharp knocks on my apartment door. I quickly turned off the music and shuffled to the door. Seriously, who wants to visit me at this time of night?! Probably some drunk teenager looking for the bathroom…

I opened the door, ready to tell them off, but what was there, made me shut my mouth.

"M…Mal?" I asked, confused. He looked angry. Like, really angry. Without saying a word, he stormed in my apartment and started pacing angrily, muttering to himself.

"Mal? What's wrong with you?"

He stopped pacing and looked at me with anger in his eyes.

"What's wrong with me? Not what's wrong with me; what's wrong with you!"

I looked at him in confusion and closed the door. "What?"

"You've ruined true love, Natara!" he started pacing once again.

"Mal, what are you talking about?!" I asked, bewildered, wondering if this was some crazy dream.

"You ruined mine and Selene's true love!"

I furrowed my eyebrows. How dare he blame me for his messed-up relationship!

"How?" I asked, malice in my voice.

"Because!" he stopped pacing and looked me in the eyes.

"I can't be in love with Selene if I'm already in love with you. It feels wrong, like I'm cheating on you! I want to love her, but I just can't because I can't stop thinking about you! Everytime I'm around her, I wish that you were there instead! It's driving me insane! Do you know how hard it is to stay faithful in a relationship if you're constantly thinking about another woman?!" He exclaimed, raking his fingers roughly through his hair.

"You're seriously blaming me for this?!"

"Yes!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"It's your fault for being so god damn irresistible and making me fall in love with you! Oh my God. And when you were dancing with that guy... Just..Ugh!" he exclaimed in frustration.

"Mal, are you...Are you jealous?!"

"You're damn right I'm jealous! I didn't even know the guy but I wanted to rip his head off for even touching you, Natara. And then back at the party, when we almost kissed. God, I couldn't stop thinking about it. About how much I wanted it to happen. About how I wanted to wrap you up in my arms and protect you from the world..."

I stared at him in shock, eyes widened.

"And there! You sitting there with that expression on your face! I just wanna go over there and kiss the shock straight off!" he exclaimed, sitting down on my couch and putting his head in his hands.

"…then why don't you?" I mumbled slowly.

"Why don't I what?" he said, just as slow.

"Why don't you kiss me then?" I asked.

He looked up, studying me for a second.

"...fine," he said, standing up.

My eyes widened even more.

"W-what?" I stammered.

"I'm going to kiss you."

"But-but it's wrong!" I stammered, backing down.

"I don't see what's so wrong about it."

"We can't! You're with Selene!"

He seemed to ponder it for a moment.

"Fine. Tell ya what. I'm going to try something. Maybe if it isn't great, then I can finally go back to Selene..."

"What?" I barely got out before he grabbed my face.

All I saw was a flash of blue before I felt his soft lips on mine. It wasn't a makeout session or anything. Just one simple kiss... But it sure didn't feel like it.

Fireworks were mentally going off in my head as we stayed like that, his lips on mine. Our lips fit each other perfectly, as if they were made for each other. I stood on my tip toes, leaning against him, so we could stay like that for at least a few more seconds. All too soon for me, our lips slowly broke apart. He looked into my eyes for a second. Surprise was registered across my face, I could tell.

"What was tha-" I started, but he held up a finger, silencing me.

He quickly took out his cell phone, dialed a number, and pressed it to his ear.

I barely heard a small, "Hello?" on the other end of the phone.

"Hey Selene? This is Mal. It's over," he stated, before closing his phone, simply tossing it behind him.

"Did you just-" I started but he finished it for me, "I sure did." He grabbed my face again and kissed me passionately. Deeper this time. I immediately responded, kissing him back.

After a few breathless seconds, I pulled away.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Leave her for me?!" I asked.

"Of course I do. Nat, you're probably gonna hate me for this, but I took her out to Grandmaw Annie's tonight after the party and ordered Heaven in a Scoop. Right when it got to our table, she made me go get a refund and order some fruit salad instead," he said, wrinkling his nose. "And guess what... Cookies don't taste good with fruit salad! Turns out she knows nothing about me. She doesn't even know my middle name! Then I got to thinking. I needed someone that knew me like the back of her hand. Someone that I knew better than myself. And then it hit me. There was only one girl like that, and I had already lost her. So, I decided to come down here and beg you for a chance."

"But... Selene is perfect!"

"Sure. Selene is fun, beautiful, great even..." he started. I furrowed my eyebrows. He whispered, "But she's not you."

Well, that did it.

I instantly crashed my lips to his, feeling my whole world spin. He immediately kissed back, hungrily. After a few seconds, I felt a gentle tug on my waist. I got his message and jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist. He put his hands under my thighs, holding me up. He slammed me against the wall as the kiss got more passionate. We were in the middle of a heated make out session, kissing like there would be no tomorrow. He pressed every inch of himself against me. I did the same, wanting to be as close to him as possible, loving the feel of his lips molding passionately with mine. I tangled my hands in his already messy hair, feeling the dark brown softness. He nipped at my bottom lip, gently. I instantly granted him access before his tongue slid right in, exploring my mouth. After a few glorious minutes, I pulled away, breathless. Mal just went down to my neck, sucking and kissing different spots.

"I love you, Mal," I mumbled.

He grinned against my neck. "I love you too, Natara. More than you will ever know..."

I pulled his lips back to mine, repeating what we were just doing. I moaned slightly and pulled back to look at him pleadingly.

He looked back at me with worried eyes, undstanding my request.

"Natara, are you sure? We don't have to do this now..." he trailed off as I placed a tender kiss on his lips.

"i want to. I'm positive," I whispered against his lips. He grinned brightly at me, one of his Fallon trademark smiles. He brought his lips back to mine, taking me off the wall and heading blindly towards the bedroom. Soon, my back hit the soft mattress. Mal hovered over me, looking in my eyes.

"God, you're beautiful, Nat. Why didn't I see it before now?!"

"Because you were with a weed who pretended to be a rose," I smiled at him.

He chuckled and whispered, "I guess so." before going back to kissing me.

I pulled back for a moment.

"Hey Mal?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"You belong with me."

"Couldn't have said it any better myself."

_**The End**_


	5. Somebody That I Used to Know

**Somebody That I Used to Know**

"Naaaaaatttttttaaaaaarrrrrraa aaa!" I heard a familiar voice drone out from the open doorway of the precinct.

I sighed and looked up from my paperwork.

Walking towards me, with a huge smile on his face was my partner and current boyfriend of four months, Mal Fallon.

"Mal?" I asked more than said.

"Aw, c'mon. You need to say it like me… Maaaaaaalllllllllll." He grinned even brighter.

I rolled my eyes and looked back down to my paperwork.

A second later, I felt a finger at my chin, lifting my head up so I could look into his stunning blue eyes.

"You look beautiful today," he whispered, before pecking me on the lips.

I smiled and pulled away.

"Ah, ah, ah. No PDA whilst at work," I wagged my finger at him.

"Well, I wouldn't have to do PDA if you didn't look so irresistible every day!"

I instantly blushed, while he laughed.

"There's that blush!"

I swatted his arm with the folder in my hand.

"Abusive girlfriend of mine… And just as I was about to tell her that I had arranged a reservation for _Restaurant Fantaisie_ tonight for our 4 month anniversary," he batted his long eyelashes at me.

My eyes widened in excitement. "You're kidding!"

"Kidding, I am not," he grinned at my excited expression.

"But that place is like, crazy expensive!" I exclaimed.

He leaned close and pecked me on my lips. "Anything for my girlfriend." He smiled and pulled away.

"How'd you even get a reservation?! I heard it takes months to get one!"

"I know a guy," he shrugged.

I stared at him curiously.

"Okay, so my wallet is a lot lighter now, but who cares? We're eating French tonight, baby!"

I laughed, got out of my seat, and hugged him tightly. He instantly wrapped both arms around the small of my back.

"Thank you so much…" I murmured into his shoulder.

"Hey, you've been talking nonstop for a month about how you wanted to go there one day. It's the least I could do…" he trailed off.

"What do you mean?" I pulled away looking into his eyes.

"I'm just saying that since you chose me over Oscar, I should treat you like a true queen and not like any other girl. I'm extremely grateful that I can now call you mine. I feel like the luckiest man in the world," he shrugged.

My heart swelled as I thought about how sweet this man was and how lucky I was to have him. I leaned in and pressed my lips against his, passionately. He instantly kissed me back and walked until my back hit my office wall.

We were in the middle of a long, slow, passionate kiss, when Blaise walked by my office door and nonchalantly said, "No PDA in the station…"

Mal pulled away, groaning frustratingly, and yelled to Blaise's retreating figure, "Damn you, Blaise!"

She replied by lifting her coffee cup in the air and taking a sip from it. He rolled his eyes, chuckling, then said, "Our friends… Complete idiots."

I giggled and sat back down, resuming working on the huge stack of paperwork that I had to finish by the end of the day.

"You know," he said, taking a candle off of my desk and throwing it up in the air, catching it in his palm a few times, "I finally figured out what that fancy French name means…"

I already knew (Because I had taken French in high school) but decided to enlighten him.

"And what does it mean?"

He wrinkled his nose, "It means '_Fancy Restaurant.' _Why would anyone name their restaurant _Fancy Restaurant_?!" he asked.

"At least it's in French. If it was something like _Tony's _no one would go to it…"

"Because _Tony's _sounds more like a pizza shop than a French restaurant."

"Well, there you go. Plus I like _Restaurant Fantaisie _anyways. It even sounds fancy."

He rolled his eyes and said, "So? How bout it? Want me to pick you up or…?" he asked hopefully.

"No, it's fine. I've got a ton of paperwork to do anyways. I'll just meet you there."

"You sure? I seriously don't mind waiting around," he said, eyeing the stack of paper cautiously.

"You and I both know that you don't want to stay. I'll meet you at the restaurant."

"Fine, but be there by 6 okay? It might take a little while to get our food, considering the place will be packed…"

"Yes mother. Now, leave. Don't you have some criminals to be jailing?" I teased, trying to push him out of my office.

"I'd much rather stay in here with you."

"Of course you would. Now, leave, Romeo. I need to finish this paperwork by 6 and all you're doing is distracting me," I pushed him to the door.

He turned around, facing me, and rested his palms on the doorframe.

"What? Don't I get a kiss goodbye?"

"No…?"

He pouted, "Please, Naaaaaaatttttttaaaaarrrrraaa aa?!"

I rolled my eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

He grinned, stepped up in front of me, grabbed my face, and planted a soft, slow kiss on my lips. He held it for a few seconds, enjoying the feeling. A second later, someone walked right by my office, stopped, and backed up to look in the doorway.

"WOAH! YOU GUYS! HOLY CRAP! GET A ROOM! IT'S ALREADY GETTING ALL KINDS OF MALTARA STEAMY IN HERE!" Kai yelled, loud enough for the whole precinct to hear. I looked out the doorway to see Kai staring at us in shock, eyeballs wide and eyebrows raised in excitement. Mal leaned his forehead against mine and muttered something along the lines of, "I'm gonna kill that…" , "If he comes up missing, don't blame me…" , and "Stupid geek…"

Mal shot Kai a death glare, making him run away, squealing like a little girl, "AHHHH! MAL, DON'T KILL ME! I'M SORRY I INTERRUPTED YOUR MOMENT!"

He rolled his eyes and a second later pecked my lips one last time before walking out. I smiled and walked back to my desk. I then frowned at the stack of papers on my desk.

"Better get to work if I'm going to be finished by 6…"

_**~CoD~ ~CoD~ ~CoD~**_

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

I stepped out of the bathroom after taking a shower and glanced at the clock on the wall.

**5:43 P.M.**

Shit…

I quickly put on my tuxedo, mentally complaining at how scratchy it was. Anything for the lady, right?

I rushed back into the bathroom and scrubbed at my teeth. Afterwards, I fixed my hair in its usual style, put on the cologne that Natara loved, took one last glance at the mirror, grabbed my car keys and wallet, and headed out the door.

Natara was going to kill me if I was late. Like, literally, kill me. She hated it when people were late. It was one of her biggest pet peeves.

On the way to the restaurant, I stopped by a little flower stand and picked up a bouquet of white and purple lilies… Her favorites.

I arrived at the restaurant 3 minutes before 6, but Natara wasn't here yet. After about 10 minutes, I was seated. I constantly checked my watch and the front door, but still no Natara… Where could she be?

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

**5:38 P.M.**

"Natara, duck!" Jeremy Redbird yelled at me. In a flash, I was on the ground, dodging the punch of Martin Webber, who was our lead suspect of the murder of Heather Valerie. I jumped back up and ran after our retreating suspect, Redbird hot on my heels.

"He's going to the old barnyard!" Redbird yelled at me.

"Got it!" I sprinted as fast as my legs could go. Obviously, this man was some type of runner because he was fast. Almost too fast…

Finally, after a few minutes, Martin tired out and slowed down. I took this to my advantage and sped up. As soon as I got close enough, I tackled him, landing in the grassy field.

"Martin Webber… you are.. under arrest for…Huff… the murder of… Heather…Huff…Valerie. You have the right… to remain silent… etcetera, etcetera…" I said in between hard breathes, cuffing him.

Jeremy ran up a split second later, hands on his knees, breathing hard.

"Nice job… Natara," he huffed.

"Thanks," I nodded in appreciation.

I followed Jeremy as he drug Martin to the back of his car.

I hopped in the passenger seat and regained my breathing as we drove back to the station.

As soon as we got back, we went into Captain Anders's office.

"We apprehended Webber at the scene of the crime. He tried to run, but Natara here," Redbird gestured to me, "Tackled and cuffed him. We do believe that he murdered Valerie."

"Well, nice job, you two. He'll be taken in for questioning as soon as possible. You may go back to your work," Captain Anders's praised us briefly.

"Thank you sir," we said in unison, heading out the door. I walked back to my office to finish on my paperwork, completely obvious to the fact that I was 24 minutes late to our date.

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

I glanced at my watch once again. **6:47 P.M. **

'_It's okay, Mal. Maybe she was just caught up at work. She did have a huge stack of papers to file. She'll be here any minute,'_ I thought to myself.

"Excuse me sir, are you ready to order yet?" the waiter came by my table, once again, to ask me.

"No, just a few more minutes. I'm waiting on someone," I assured him, although at this point, I wasn't even sure myself.

"Just tell me when you're ready," he said, before walking off to another table.

I watched the flame of the small candle in the middle of the table burn upwards, never twirling. I checked my watch once again, and exhaled a sigh. Where was my girlfriend?!

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

"Hey, Natara. I think we're about ready to take Martin in for questioning if you want to go ahead and try to get some answers out of him…" Bartaugh said, coming up behind me.

"How long has he been grilling in the interrogation room?" I asked.

"Um, for about an hour or so?"

"Alright. I'll try to get something outta him," I said, walking up to the interrogation room and peering through the one-way glass. I could see Martin sitting down, looking around observantly, not a care in the world.

"We searched the crime scene on the day of the murder, and found a bloody sledge hammer. It's down in the lab getting DNA results and fingerprints as we speak. They should be almost ready. Just work your Agent magic-ness and see if you'll get this guy to crack."

"Alright," I said, smiling a little, starting to go in.

"Watch out, Special Agent Williams. This one looks sneaky," Anna Willis informed me, coming out of the interrogation room.

"Thanks Anna," I replied before walking in.

Webber watched me with a smirk on his face as I entered.

"Well if it isn't the fine officer who tackled me to the ground. How ya doin' girl?" he asked.

"Fine. I'd be even better if you'd hurry up and admit that you murdered that Valerie girl," I shot back.

"You can't prove anything," he said to me.

"We have Data Analysts and Forensic Techs working on lab results on the murder weapon as we speak, so it will be a whole lot easier if you just tell me the truth right now," I said, staring at him in his cold, hard, brown eyes.

"Wh..What murder weapon?" he stammered, looking a little nervous. When he saw me smirk in satisfaction, he immediately tried to cover up his nervousness with a smirk of his own.

"Oh, just a sledge hammer. Cherry wood lever, red metal head, the words _'Destruction' _engraved on the end? Does that ring a bell, Webber?" I watched successfully as his face went from smirking to anger as he zoned out, apparently flash backing.

"Martin, is there something you would like to tell me? If you confess to this murder, you won't face the full wrath of consequences," I spoke lowly to him.

He seemed to come back to reality and looked me in the eyes, angrily.

"I'll never tell you anything."

"Fine. I'll see you in court, Mr. Webber," I said, before walking out and to my office.

I sat down at my desk and sipped my coffee, fighting the urge to go to sleep. I felt as if it was 10 at night, but in reality it was only around **7:30 P.M.**

I took one last swig of my coffee and began to go through this next case file, completely forgetting about my boyfriend and the special date that he had been planning for a few months.

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

I fished my cell phone out of my tux pocket and attempted to try and call Natara once again.

"_Hello_-" I heard on the other line.

"Natara? Thanks goodness! Where have you been? I'm waiting down here for you at the restaurant but you still haven't shown-" I cut off as I heard.

"_This is Special Agent Natara Williams. I'm sorry I'm not able to answer the phone right now. Please leave your-_" It cut off as I shut my phone, tiredly. I rubbed my face as frustration and anger began to set in. No, I couldn't be angry. She was probably just tied up at work or didn't realize the time…

Suddenly, I felt a slight poke on my shoulder. I turned around, hoping it was Natara, but to my disappointment it was a 60-year old lady.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Have you been stood up, too?" she asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows, 'Too?' I mouthed to myself.

"Um, no ma'am. I'm waiting for someone to get here," I smiled cautiously at her.

"Mmmm. That's what they all say. If they're not here by twenty minutes of the date time, you might as well just leave.." she advised , me.

I smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"Plus, if you ever get lonely, you could join my book club? We are reading _Romeo and Juliet. _We need handsome men like you to join, anyways. You might want to bring a book on every date you go on just in case they don't show up. It's a woman's best friend…"

"Heh, thanks." I said, smiling politely.

Seriously, lady? I'm not a woman! Plus, she needed to stop flirting with me.. She was old enough to be my grandmother!

I turned back around and looked at my watch once again. **7:56 P.M.** Where the _hell _was my girlfriend?!

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

"Hey, Natara. Amy told me to tell you to swing by the lab once you have time. She said she had the lab results for the murder weapon," Anna said, sticking her head in my office door.

"Oh, of course. Thanks Anna," I said, walking to the crime lab.

"Amy, please tell me you have something for me," I said, pleading.

"I sure do!" I heard her chirp.

I walked in to see Amy typing furiously on her computer while Kai was in the corner, with a game set on his head, playing on his computer, while yelling at the computer, "NO! I DID NOT WANT TO CANCEL THAT ACTION! BLAISE, IF YOU DON'T EAT IN 5 MINUTES YOU WILL DIE AND I WILL HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN!"

I gave him a confused look before going over to Amy, who was completely ignoring Kai.

"Got fingerprints?" I asked.

"Of course. These lab results…" she handed me a few pieces of paper. "Prove that these fingerprints do belong to Martin Webber. They're the exact same match. I think we've got our guy here," she told me.

"Do you know where the weapon was found? If it was found on the crime scene, don't you think that it would just be too easy?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"BLAISE! I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE TO PEE! YOU NEED TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SCREAMING CHILDREN!" Kai yelled at his computer.

"They said they found it a few yards away, hidden in some large bushes. Sam barely saw the red metal before he went to investigate…" Amy drifted off as Kai said, "Blaise! Hold it! You're almost to the bathroom! Aww, come on, not on the carpet! You were literally 2 feet away from the toilet!"

"Oh, alright then. So we have our guy?"

"I do believe so…"

"Jeremy! IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU CAME HOME! HELP BLAISE WITH THE CHILDREN SO SHE CAN GO SHOWER! …AND CLEAN UP THE PEE ON THE FLOOR!" Kai yelled, clicking around furiously.

"Okay, thanks Amy!"

"Oh wait, Natara. Come here, I wanted to show you something!"

_***Mal's P.O.V***_

"Come on… Answer the freakin' phone, Natara Mansingh Williams!" I exclaimed.

"_Hey, this is Special Agent Natara Williams. I'm sorry I'm not able to_-" **Click!**

I dialed another number only to be met with, "_Hey, it's me, Blaise. Obviously, I'm busy so call back when I'm not…_" **Click!**

"_Redbird here. It seems I'm not at the phone right now so-"_ **Click!**

"_Hey, this is Special Agent Natara Williams. I'm sorr-"_ **Click!**

"_Hey, it's Amy! I'm doing something right now! I'll try to call you back-_"** Click!**

"_It's Bartaugh! I can't come to the phone so I'll message you back later-"_ **Click!**

"_You have reached Anna Willis. I'm either at the station or too drunk to answer right now. Call-_" **Click!**

"_Hey, this is Special Agent Nata-" _**Click!**

"_Hey, this is Spe-" _**Click!**

"_Hey, this is-" _**Click!**

"_Hey, this is Special Agent Natara Williams. I'm sorry I'm not able to answer the phone right now. Please leave your name and number and I'll give you a call back as soon as possible… Thanks!" __**Beep!**_

"Hey, Nat. It's Mal. Please answer. I'm so worried. It's been 2 hours. I hope you haven't forgotten about our date. Call me back… Please? Bye…" I said, snapping my phone shut.

"_Hey, this is Special Agent-" _**Click!**

"You have got to be kidding me! Answer the phone!" I growled frustratingly.

There was only one person that I hadn't called yet, besides Anders… I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. '_This just proves how much I care about you, Natara…' _I thought in my head. I looked through my contact list, slowly scrolled to the K's, and clicked a name that I thought I would never have to call…

(_**A/N: Switching to 3-person P.O.V)**_

"_Papa John's Pizza and Abortion Clinic! Your loss is our sauce! How may we help you_?" the person answered.

"What the crap? Kai, do you always answer your phone like that?"

"No, I have different ways to. I like to change it up every now and then. What's up buddy?" Kai asked, still playing the Sims.

"First of all, never answer your phone like that again… It's gross. Second, I'm not your buddy. And lastly, have you seen Natara?" Mal asked, rubbing a hand over his face back at the restaurant.

"I sure have, why?"

"If you see her again, just tell her to not forget about our date alright? Oh, and to call me back.. Please." Mal sighed, ready to hang up.

"OH CRAP, JEREMY NO! BLAISE GET DOWN THERE AND CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT! JEREMY'S ON FIRE!" Kai suddenly yelled.

"What?"

"Sorry, Mal! Gotta go, bye!" he exclaimed.

"Wait, just tell her please… and you hung up," Mal sighed, closing the phone and slumping in his seat, and checking his phone once again.  
**8:16 P.M.**

_**~Natara's P.O.V~**_

"Papa John's Pizza and Abortion Clinic! Your loss is our sauce! How may we help you?" I heard Kai say on the other side of the lab. At first, I was confused (and slightly grossed out), but I just ignored it and returned my attention back to Amy, who was showing me the murder weapon.

"The fingerprints are all in this area," she said, pointing the smooth lever of the sledge hammer.

"-What's up buddy?" I wondered who Kai was talking to.

"-Have, why?"

"And there is blood stain on this part, as you can see."

"-OH CRAP! JEREMY NO!" Okay? He was probably just talking to his game, anyways.

"And that's it!" Amy chirped at me.

"Thanks Amy! See you later!" I called, before walking up the stairs out of the crime lab, missing the last part of that conversation…

"Sorry, Mal! Gotta go, bye!"

A few minutes later, I was back in the interrogation room with Martin Webber.

"Alright, Mr. Webber. We know you killed off the girl, so go ahead and admit it. The fingerprints on the hammer matched yours exactly. We know it belonged to you. If you go ahead and give us the truth, you'll go off on a much lighter punishment."

He stared daggers at me, while I stared back. Finally, after a few seconds of the 'staring contest,' he sighed. "Fine, I admit it. I killed the girl."

"Why?"

"Why? Really? You ask me why?! Ask the whore who cheated on me!"

"What do you mean, Martin?"

"WE HAD A PERFECTLY FINE RELATIONSHIP UNTIL SHE CHEATED ON ME! SHE CHEATED ON ME WITH SEVERAL MEN, MY BROTHER INCLUDED, AND I NEVER DID ANYTHING TO HER! SHE DESERVED TO DIE!" He screamed at me.

"That's all I needed. Thank you for your time, Mr. Webber," I said, exiting the room.

"Another crazy ex. He murdered her because she cheated on him. He's our guy," I whispered to Joe, as I walked by.

"Alright, thanks Natara."

"You're welcome."

I walked back to my office and sat down at my desk. I laid my head down as exhaustion seeped through me. I looked back up and checked my clock. Wow, it felt later than **8:31 P.M. **

"Hey, Natara, there's a phone call for you in Anders's office…" Sam said, walking by my office.

"Alright. Thanks." I said, getting up, walking to the office, and picking up the phone.

"Hello?" I asked, tiredly.

"Hey, Natara?" a familiar voice asked.

My eyes widened in shock. Oh God no. It couldn't be…

"Oscar?!" I asked shock evident in my voice.

"Yeah, hi. I'm calling regarding to the Valerie case."

"Oh, of course."

"Yes, I need the details for the trial…"

After I had explained what details of the murder, he asked, "Has your captain informed you of what day the trial will be held on?"

"Sometime next week."

"Oh, okay." It was awkward silence for a moment before he said, "Natara?"

"Yes?"

"…What ever happened between us? Was it something I did? Was I not a good enough boyfriend or..?"

"No, that's not it! Oscar, you were a fine boyfriend. No, you didn't do anything wrong. This might sound cliché but… It seriously wasn't you. It was me. I wasn't ready to get married."

"Well… Maybe, do you think... Could we start over again and just go slower?"

I bit my bottom lip. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"…I'm already dating someone."

"…It's Fallon, isn't it?"

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"I figured he would come clean sooner or later about how he felt about you… Well, I have to get back to work. Goodbye Natara. I hope you and Mal have a long and happy life together," he said, before hanging up.

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

"Sir, are you sure you don't want to go ahead and place your order?" the waiter asked me for the 500th time.

"Yes, I'm damn sure I'm not ready yet! I'm waiting for someone and just because they are almost three hours late doesn't mean a damn thing, okay?! She will show up!" I growled, raking my hands through my hair repeatedly. The man just sighed, shaking his head, and walked away.

I pulled out my cell phone. **8:52 p.m. **If she didn't answer this time, I was going home. I pressed #1 on speed dial and waited.

"_Hey…"_

"Natara?" I asked, irritated.

"_This is Special Agent Natara Williams-"_ it cut off as I angrily shut my phone and shoved it back into my pocket.

I slammed my fist on the table, making the plates clatter. I put my head in my hands frustratingly and slid them down my face.

"Fine, she doesn't want to go on a date with me or answer my calls, then fine. Fine with me. See if I try to again," I muttered, slamming down a couple of dollar bills on the table and storming out of the restaurant. On the way to my car, I realized that I still had the flowers clutched tightly in my hands. I threw them out into the street and stalked off angrily towards my car.

'_Never again.'_

**~Natara's P.O.V.~**

I tiredly stumbled up to the stairs to Mal's apartment. I had had such a busy day at work that all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep for the next three or four days.

I checked my clock. **10:03 P.M. **Mal would probably be asleep by now, I figured.

I fished the spare key to his apartment out of my purse and sleepily unlocked him door. I then proceeded to zombie walk in the door, closing it with a slight 'click.'

"Glad to see that you could _finally _make it," said a sarcastic voice coming from the living room.

I walked in to see Mal sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead with an annoyed expression on. He had a tuxedo on and his hair was as messy as ever.

"Mal! What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

His head snapped towards where I was standing. He crossed his arms and huffed, "Who? Me? Oh, nothing really. I'm just frustrated, angry, and quite frankly, pissed off!

"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He stared at me incredulously, disbelief on his handsome features.

"You're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding me.." he whispered.

"What is it?"

He threw his hands up in the air, exasperatedly.

"Oh, nothing. I've just been sitting in a restaurant alone for 3 hours constantly waiting for my girlfriend to appear!"

I rubbed my face with my hands, mentally cursing myself.

"Oh, crap. Mal, I'm sorry. I forg-"

"You forgot? Oh really? Hmmm. I couldn't tell. Especially when I was just standing in the restaurant all alone, calling my girlfriend repeatedly for 3 hours straight!" he exclaimed, voice riding up a few octaves.

"Look, I know your mad but-" I started, but was cut off.

"Mad? Oh, no, Natara. I'm not mad…" He said, standing up and angrily striding up to get in front of me.

"I'm angry! I'm past angry! I'm furious! Freakin' pissed off! How could you forget about this?!" he continued, almost to the point of yelling.

"And I'm sorry for that. I got so tied up in work that I-"

"What? Couldn't remember about our 4 month anniversary?! Or the dinner that we were supposed to share together?"

"Chill out. We'll just reschedule it for tomorrow."

"I can't just tell them to give me another reservation because my date didn't show up, Natara. It takes months to get a reservation. Plus, even if I could get it for tomorrow night, I don't know if I even want to sit there and wait for another 3 hours!"

"Why are you acting like such a girl?! I only forgot about this one date!" I exclaimed, getting tired of his attitude.

"I bet you'd never 'forget' to go on a date with Oscar! In fact, I know you didn't because you would always tell me when you were going on a date with him! Every. Single. Day."

"Well, remember when we had planned to go to the movies, but you cancelled because you had work to do. You were with 'Blaise' the whole entire time!"

"Yeah, Blaise and I were working on the case together! Nothing more!"

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

I hated fighting with Natara. It was the worst feeling ever. But since we both were running on just a few hours of sleep, and were very cranky, we kept throwing insults at each other.

"I bet you never cancelled on Selene!" she exclaimed.

"I…." I trailed off, not sure what to say to that.

"Exactly! Oscar never cancelled on me!"

Anger boiled within me at that name.

"Oh, yes. Oscar didn't ever cancel on you because Oscar is so perfect in your eyes! If he's so perfect, why don't you go spend your 4 month anniversary with him?! Maybe this time you won't be 3 HOURS LATE!" I shouted at her.

"I KNOW FOR SURE THAT HE WOULDN'T CANCEL ON ME OR YELL AT ME IF I'M LATE!" she screamed back at me.

"He would if you were THREE HOURS LATE!"

"Mal, just shut the hell up!"

"IF OSCAR IS SO PERFECT, WHY DON'T YOU GO OUT WITH HIM?!"

"I DID, BUT I LEFT HIM FOR YOU! WHICH I CAN SEE NOW WAS A TERRIBLE MISTAKE!" Pain stabbed me in the chest, full-force.

"I SHOULD'VE NEVER LEFT SELENE!" I heard her suck in a sharp breath.

"SELENE WAS CRAZY!"

"SO WHAT?! SHE COULD'VE GOTTEN BETTER! I COULD'VE GOTTEN BLAISE OR STAYED WITH MINKA BUT NOOOOO! I DENIED THEM FOR YOU!"

"THEN GO BACK TO THEM!"

"MAYBE I WILL!"

"MAL FALLON, YOU ARE SUCH A JERK!"

"AND YOU'RE A PAIN IN THE ASS! IT'S NOT LIKE I'VE WAITED FOR 2 YEARS FOR THIS CHANCE AND SUDDENLY REALIZE THAT YOU DON'T EVEN LOVE ME! I'VE JUST BEEN WASTING MY TIME ON YOU!" I unleashed.

"WELL, I GUESS YOU HAVE! SHOULD'VE GONE WITH BLAISE WHILE YOU COULD'VE! YOU'RE ALWAYS WITH HER ANYWAYS! WE NEVER HAVE ANY TIME TOGETHER ANYMORE!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE WE'RE WORKING!"

"Gosh, I should've accepted Oscar's offer today. He called me and asked to get back together but I refused since I had a BOYFRIEND!" she yelled.

"SINCE WHEN ARE YOU TALKING TO OSCAR EVERY DAY NOW?!"

"I HAVE TO BECAUSE OF THIS CASE!"

"OF COURSE YOU DO… IS THAT WHY HE ASKED YOU TO BE HIS GIRLFRIEND AGAIN?!"

"HE MISSES ME!"

"I DON'T SEE HOW, CONSIDERING I CAN'T EVEN STAND HERE FOR MORE THAN 5 SECONDS WITHOUT YOU SCREAMING AT ME!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED THE SCREAMING!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DIDN'T SHOW UP FOR THE DATE!"

"YOU DIDN'T REMIND ME!"

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE REMINDED!"

"I HAD A LONGER WORK DAY THAN YOU!"

"YEAH, CONSISTING OF TALKING TO THE DASHING DA, WHOM YOU TALK TO EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY!"

"I DO NOT!"

"DO TOO! YOU'RE GOING TO TALK TO HIM ALL THE TIME, NATARA! MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE LEFT HIM FOR ME IF YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT ME!"

"I DO CARE ABOUT YOU! I WOULDN'T HAVE LEFT HIM IF I DIDN'T. MAYBE IT WAS A MISTAKE TO LEAVE HIM THEN! YOU'RE ALWAYS HANGING OUT WITH BLAISE! WHY CAN'T I TALK TO OSCAR?!"

"UM, I DON'T KNOW… BECAUSE HE'S YOUR EX-FIANCEE?!"

"WELL, BLAISE USED TO LIKE YOU! SHE'S KIND OF YOUR EX!"

"BLAISE. AND. I. DO. WORK.! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS?!"

"OSCAR AND I ARE WORKING, TOO!"

"FINE THEN! WHY DON'T YOU GO OUT WITH OSCAR IF HE'S SOOOO 'PERFECT!'" I said, sarcastically, putting air quotes up with my fingers.

"MAYBE I WILL! THEN I'LL BE OUT OF THE WAY AND YOU CAN FINALLY GO OUT WITH BLAISE!"

"MAYBE I WILL!"

"WELL, MAYBE WE SHOULD BREAK UP…" her voice lowered at the last part of that sentence. She looked down at the ground, unable to look me in the eyes. I felt as if my heart were ripping in half.

"Wh….What?" I whispered.

"What's the point in us having a relationship if we're not even going to try to make it work?!"

I was silent for a moment, before anger built up once again.

"WELL, FINE. IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, THEN FINE! HAVE FUN WITH MR. FANCY GOODY-TWO-SHOES THEN!"

"THE SAME WITH YOU AND BLAISE!" she exclaimed, her face getting red in anger.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? MAYBE THIS IS FOR THE BETTER! MAYBE WE SHOULD BREAK UP! THIS WAS NEVER REALLY GOING TO WORK ANYWAYS, US BEING PARTNERS AND ALL!"

"GOODBYE FOREVER, MALACHI FALLON!"

"FINE! BYE!" I yelled, as she slammed my door on the way out.

I ran my fingers through my hair, yanking hard, frustratingly.

"DAMMIT!" I yelled, punching a hole into my living room wall. My knuckles instantly reddened and began to swell, but all I could think about was how I had just lost the love of my life…

*_**Later that night***_

I lay in bed, staring straight above me, blankly, while thinking of the events that had just ruined my life.

I hadn't slept at all yet. I kept tossing and turning, yearning for the slender, warm body to be next to mine. The bed felt so empty and cold without her in it. The only thing that I wanted at the moment was for her to be wrapped up in my arms and snuggling into my chest. I sighed deeply. God, I've just made the worst mistake of my life. And I intended to try and fix it. I quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed my cell phone, and dialed her number.

"_Hey, this is Special Agent Natara Williams.." _

"Shit," I cursed under my breath. I quickly put on some jogging clothes and headed outside, towards my car.

Ten minutes later, my speeding car pulled up outside of her apartment building, coming to an abrupt stop. I hopped out and ran towards the familiar apartment that I had been in so many times. I banged on the door, yelling, "Natara! Open up! Please! I'm sorry! I didn't mean what I said! Please, open up!" but got no answer.

Suddenly, a man next door came out and said, "I wouldn't even try, son. She's not home…"

"Do you know where she is?"

"No, hasn't been home since this morning."

"Okay, thank you, sir." I said, defeated. I walked out of the building, into my car, and sadly drove home to my bed, where I resumed tossing and turning, calling Natara (to no avail) and getting absolutely no sleep.

_**~Natara's P.O.V~**_

"GOODBYE FOREVER, MALACHI FALLON!" I yelled at his furious face.

"FINE! BYE!" he yelled back, before I stormed to the door and slammed it closed. I ran to my car with angry tears streaming down my face.

A few minutes later, I drove into my sister's dorm's parking lot and hopped out. I walked in and went straight to her dorm room. I knocked and waited for a few seconds.

"Hello- Natara? What are you doing here? Why are you crying?" she asked me, worry flashing across her face.

And that's when I broke down. My flood gates were officially released and there was nothing I could do about it.

She let me in and led me to her bed. I told her the whole story whilst crying my eyes out. After I was done, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, and pulled me close.

"It's okay, Natara. Everything will work out… I promise," she assured me. I sniffled and mumbled, "I hope your right. It's just… He's my best friend, Neha. I don't want to lose him." I laid my head in her lap and whispered, "I love him."

"Then why don't you tell him that?" she asked, softly stroking my hair.

"I can't now. He probably hates my guts. I don't blame him either. How could I forget our 4 months anniversary dinner? I'd be mad if he forgot about the dinner that I had been planning for months, also…Maybe I am a lost cause. With Mal gone, there's no hope for me. I'll never be loved," I sniffled.

"Now wait just a second. You don't know what you're talking about. _Mal _loved you. He still does. You just need to give him some time to cool off. That's all," she said, soothingly.

"I hope you're right…" I muttered.

"Of course I'm right. If you don't think I am, then open your eyes, Natara. You obviously don't see how he looks at you. The love in his eyes when he sees you or someone mentions your name. He's fallen for you hard, Bahena. I wish I had someone who loved me that much…" she trailed off.

I looked up and into her eyes, "You will, one day, Neha. I promise."

She smiled slightly. "Not as much as Mal loves you. If you could see how different he looks when he looks at you and when he looks at other women, you would believe me. And I can tell you've fallen for him, too."

As I fell asleep that night, after several hours, I decided upon one thing that I absolutely had to do…

I was going to forget Malachi Charles Fallon if it was the last thing that I did.

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

It's been one month… One God damn month since Natara and I had separated. One month since I've even seen Natara. The last time I saw her, she was screaming at me and slamming the door, walking out of my life forever.

I had continued work, of course. She had too… except she requested she only work night shifts (while my shifts were during the day) and that she could be reassigned to a new partner.

Every day after work, I would wait for her to come in, so I could apologize and try to set things back to the way they were, but she always somehow avoided me. If I hadn't checked with Anders every day, I wouldn't know whether she even still worked here or not. Every night would consist of almost pulling my hair out, regrets, cursing myself, punching walls, and no sleep.

I sat at my desk, staring boredly in front of me, sadly reminiscing to a better time, when things were much easier. Where life was better. Where I was happier. Where I was deeply in love…

_***Flashback***_

_Natara and I walked on the sandy seashore, walking hand and hand under the moonlight, while laughing with each other._

"_Mal! Where are you taking me?" she whined, pouting up at me._

"_I've told you a thousand times already. Just wait until we get there!" I smiled at down at her._

"_But I'm too impatient! You know that!"_

"_Come on. We're almost there."_

_About 2 minutes later, we walked up to a blanket, laying on the ground with small, lit candles dotting all around it._

_She covered her mouth with her hands in shock._

"_Is this all for me?" she whispered, looking tenderly in my eyes._

"_What? This? No, I don't know who this belongs to… Wanna steal it?" I joked, making her giggle._

"_You're impossible at times, Mal Fallon," she giggled, looking up at me lovingly._

_I looked down at her. The moonlight was reflecting off of her shiny hair, and her eyes were sparkling. All in all, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever met._

"_Natara, you look beautiful," I told her, bringing my hand up to cup her cheek._

_She leaned her head into my hand, lovingly and smiled brightly._

"_Do you get all of these lines from some cheesy pick up line book?" she asked._

_I grinned at her, "Actually, yes. How am I doing?"_

"_Just fine," she whispered, bringing her lips up to meet mine. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, though, because she pulled back, smiling widely._

"_What?" I asked, grinning at her grin._

"_This is probably the best day of my life."_

"_And how is that?"_

"_No other guy would do all of this just for me."_

"_No other guy cares about you as much as I do."_

_She grinned even wider and reached up to peck me on the lips again._

"_I'm so happy, I think I might die…" she murmured, looking up at the moon, while leaning the back of her head into my chest._

"_I feel the exact same way…" I whispered, kissing her hair._

I instantly felt my chest ache as I remembered the flashback. My chest tightened and I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I was mentally and physically heartbroken.

Ever since that horrible day, I had let myself go… I just didn't care anymore. I came to work in week old clothes, didn't brush my hair, my apartment was a mess, and my kitchen had a growing pile of moldy plates in the sink that I had not even bothered to wash. Why would I care? She was the only person in this whole world who truly understood me, and I had just let her go.

I yearned for her warm, soft skin pressing against mine, my hands tangled in her dark, silky hair, her gentle lips caressing mine…

I had tried to move on, believe me. Every day I would be walking downtown and an attractive woman would walk by me and wink, or wave, or giggle flirtatiously. The old Mal Fallon would have taken interest in them. He would've given them his time of day and by that night, would have been in bed with them. But like I said… That was the old Mal Fallon. Somehow, somewhere down the line, she had changed me. I didn't want to be with anyone except her anymore. If I even looked at an attractive woman, I would look disgustedly away and feel guilty, as if I had cheated on her. None of the women impressed me. I would always compare them to _**her. **_It would always be something like, 'Too pale.' 'Needs darker hair.' 'Too American.' 'Too dumb.' 'Too much dark hair.' 'Too chunky.' 'Too green eyed.' 'Too big of a nose.' 'Too much lipstick.' 'Too squeaky of a voice.' 'Too ugly.' Yeah, you get the picture.

It seemed as if she completely disappeared off the face of the earth. I tried to get her back, I called her at least 20 times a day, went by her apartment at least 5 times a day, but every single time, she was nowhere to be found.

_***Flashback***_

_I had been walking along the sidewalk in Chinatown, out for a quick stroll before I had gotten dark. I had my hands in pockets, and just looking around at everybody._

_And suddenly, I saw her._

_Her back was turned towards me as she walked a few meters ahead of me._

"_Natara!" I called out to her. She turned around for a quick second, saw me, turned back around, and sped up her pace._

"_What in the…" I murmured, before walking quickly after her. Unfortunately, there was a big crowd around the streets, so I dodged most of them, never taking my eyes off of her._

_She ducked into a nearby alleyway and kept speed walking. Since I was so far behind, I increased my speed to a quick jog, then a run. As soon as I got to the opening of the alley, I looked in to see if she had gone in that direction. All I got was a glimpse of coffee-colored hair, before they turned into another one. I quickly ran in that direction then turned into the next alleyway. When I got to the end of that one, it ended at another Chinatown street, where I saw her trying to blend in with the crowd. The only way I recognized her was for the color of her hair. I quickly ran after her, but she had managed to avoid me each and every time. For about 10 minutes, I followed her in and out of alleys and different streets. I turned a corner, and was met with nothing but a crowded street. No sign of her anywhere. I quickly scanned all of the faces, but none were hers._

"_Where did she go?!" I asked myself, curiously. For the next few minutes, I roamed up and down the street looking for that specific dark skinned, dark haired, hazel eyed woman, but could never find her._

_***End of Flashback***_

Why was she avoiding me? Why was she treating me like a total stranger? I know we broke up and she's probably still hurt, but that doesn't make it right to completely cut me off from contact. She basically just pretended that we had never met and never had dated or fell in love. That we never had anything between us. She was more like an old friend from school that I hadn't talked to in years. Like… Somebody That I Used To Know.

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

_***Flashback***_

_I was walking through Chinatown one night, going to buy Neha and me some dinner. It was late evening, and the sun was just about to go down._

_As I was walking, I heard a male voice call out, "Natara!" I turned around, curious as to who was calling my name. _

_My face (And heart) dropped as soon as I found out who that voice belonged to. Mal._

_I did the only thing I could think of at the moment… I turned and walked away, acting like I hadn't heard anything. What else was I supposed to do? Go up to him and talk like nothing had ever happened between us? No, I couldn't do that. It would hurt way too much._

_I quickly sped up my pace; keeping my head down so that hopefully I would lose him. But that's why he's a detective. He started to follow me, no matter where I would go or try to dodge him; he would always spot me and follow again. As soon as I ran out alleys, I jogged onto the sidewalk, hoping he would lose sight of me. Except he didn't. He managed to spot me, (somehow) and ran towards me, so I picked up my pace even more, and ran into another alley. There was a long, wide crack in the wall of the alley, where I could hide. And this is why I'm a FBI Agent. I sprinted to the large crack, hid in it, and made myself as little as possible. I held my breath and watched at how Mal's figure sprinted right past me and down the alleyway. I heard in stop seconds later, and imagined that he would be looking around._

"_Where did she go?" I barely heard him murmur to himself._

_I still kept myself hidden, no matter how much I wanted to go and talk to him. I just couldn't face it right now. So I stayed hidden. After a few minutes, he called out, "Natara? NATARA! I know that you have to be somewhere around here, so hear me out! I'm sorry, okay? I know you're mad at me, and I'm sorry for being such an ass! Please, where are you?" My heart broke instantly, but I couldn't show my face. He deserved someone way better. And I just had to keep reminding myself of that._

"Natara! Your phone is ringing!" my little sister yelled from my room, snapping me out of my flashback.

"See who it is!" I yelled back, brushing through my hair in the bathroom.

"Mal is calling… again!" she responded.

My heart stopped. Again? That was at least the 10th time that he had called me today and it was only 7 in the morning!

"Don't answer it!" I warned, knowing that she would answer in a heartbeat.

"You can't ignore him forever!" she exclaimed, as I walked into the room.

"But I can try…"

"Natara, you have to talk to him sometime. He calls you every single day, multiple times. It's obvious that he's still crazy about you."

"No, I'm giving up on him. I've already decided." I said, sticking my nose in the air, triumphantly.

"No! Be all Jason Mraz and Don't Give Up!" she yelled.

"Too late, Neha. He needs to forget about me and vice versa. We should've never got into a relationship anyways when we knew all we were going to do was hurt each other."

"Fine, then tell me one thing, sis. Not to sound like a brat or anything, but… Do you regret it? Do you regret even one thing about dating Mal? If you had the chance to go back and never date Mal in the first place, would you change it?" she asked me seriously.

I pondered that thought for a moment… Would I? Did I regret ever being in a relationship with my best friend? I could say that I did regret being in the relationship and I would go back and change everything… But that didn't seem right.

The thing was, I didn't regret being in love with my partner. If I could do it all over again, then I'd do it in a heartbeat. As to if I would go back and change it, then of course not. I loved Mal with all of my heart, soul, and mind. He was handsome, in the rugged and mysterious way. He had those electric blue eyes to die for. He would take a bullet for anything he cared about in the blink of an eye. He would be ready to die for someone that meant something special to him. He was funny, sweet, caring, and (though he didn't like to admit it) cheesy at times. Mal Fallon was a definite, perfect ten. As good as a 2 for 1 sale. The real deal… But, he deserved someone far greater than me. He deserved someone who would actually remember something as important as our 4 month anniversary dinner that he had been planning for months. He deserved someone who would give him their full attention every second of every day, just like he would do for someone… But I couldn't do that. And I never would be able to do that. And that is why he needed to move on to another, better woman. One that will treat him way better than I ever did.

"Go get dressed…" I muttered to her, rolling my eyes.

"So you don't regret it, do you?" she asked thoughtfully, wiggling her eyebrows.

"If you're not dressed in the next 10 minutes, I'm leaving here with or without you…" I threatened.

I felt a smirk come on my face as I watched her sprint to the bathroom, as fast as she could.

I walked over to my phone and flipped it open.

_13 Missed Calls from __**Mal  
**__4 Voicemails from __**Mal  
**__37 Unread Inbox Messages from __**Mal**_

Oh, Mal… What have you done with yourself?

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

_(A few days later)_

I woke up to the sound of my annoying alarm clock beeping. I groaned and hit the snooze button. Another painful night, dreaming about the girl that I loved.

I got out of bed and began dressing for work. As soon, as I was dressed and had my coffee, I took my keys, phone, wallet, and pistol before walking to my car for my daily routine.

As I was driving, I decided to try, once again, and call her.

"_I'm sorry. The person you are trying to reach has been disconnected-" _I hung up the phone, furrowing my eyebrows. Disconnected? What the..?!

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

_(A few days before)_

"Where is that stupid phone?!" I asked, searching for it by listening to the ringtone.

"_I like a punk rock chick with hair just like Rihanna. Like a go-go girl who dance like Lady Gaga. They the girls who like to party! (Hey!) So baby, could it be you, could it be you, be you, be you, be you... I like them girls. Girls who don't care. Sweatpants or stilettos, it don't matter what she wears. Girls who like to party (party). Girls that like to dance (dance). Girls that get it poppin', but ain't lookin for no man, man, man_-"

As soon as I saw it, buzzing on the couch, I grabbed it and smiled at who was calling. I flipped open the phone.

"Why did you set your ringtone to that?" I asked, an amused smile on my face.

"Why not? It's a cool song!" they answered.

"Only you would like songs like that, Neha…" I said, shaking my head. "Anyways, is there something that you need? I'm kind of busy at the moment."

"Yeah, um. I wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay?"

"Why'd you change your number?"

"…Because I wanted to."

"Okay, what's the real reason?"

"…"

"…"

I sighed. Might as well tell her the truth.

"He keeps calling me. He won't leave me alone!"

"Because he's in love with you!"

"He needs to move on. He deserves someone way better than me."

"But you're perfect for each other! You belong together but you just don't want to face reality!"

"Neha…" I said, in a warning tone.

"Fine! Think what you want! I know the real truth though. Stupid, stubborn sister of mine!"

I rolled my eyes.

"But seriously sis… You work with him. You can't ignore him forever. Sometime, you're going to have to talk to him." She told me.

"And I will continue to ignore him until that point…" I finished.

"Ughhhh. Okay, fine."

"Listen, I've got to go. Talk to you later, okay?"

"Only if you talk to Mal first."

I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see me.

"Bye Neha."

"Wait, so does that mean that you are going to talk to hi-" I hung up my phone before she could answer.

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

I sighed and put my car in park. I was going through my daily routine by stopping at Natara's apartment building to see if she was home.

I hopped out of my car and walked up to the receptionist's desk, just like every single day. This time, though, a blonde woman in her late 20's, whom I had never seen working here, was standing behind the desk.

I walked up and furrowed my eyebrows.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Yeah, where's Wanda?" I asked, referring to the red haired, old lady who usually was behind this desk.

"She's taken off for vacation for a couple of days, so I'm filling in her place. Can I help you with anything else?" she asked, her eyes roaming seductively over my body.

I coughed nervously and draped my arms over my chest, crossing them.

"Actually, yes. You see, Wanda helps me look out for a specific woman to get out of her room every day. Can you tell me if anybody has come out of Apartment 38A today?"

"No, can't say I have.. I can send them some mail in their mail box, telling them that you came to visit them if you want me to." She suggested, purring slightly like a cat.

"Sure, sounds good," I said, grinning.

"What's the name?"

"Natara Williams. Lives in Apartment 38 A," I responded.

I waited for a few seconds while she typed something on her computer.

"Um, it says here that that apartment is now vacant," she said, biting her bottom lip.

My eyes widened. Vacant?!

"What? No. That's… That's impossible! I come by her apartment every single day. I would know if she still lived here or not."

"It says here that she moved out this morning."

"Why?!"

"I don't know," she said, raising an eyebrow.

I ran my fingers through my hair, worriedly. Where could she be? Why did she move out? Did she move out of San Francisco? California? The United States? Wait… Keep your cool, Mal. Maybe she just moved to another apartment building. It's fine.

"Did she say where she was moving to?" I asked casually.

"No, it doesn't say anything else."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"No record of where she's moving to? Of why she moved out?" I asked, hopefully.

"Nope, just said she moved out this morning…"

What if she quit her job? What if she's moving somewhere else?

"Okay, thanks." I mumbled, before quickly running out.

"Come back soon!" she exclaimed. Yeah, right.

I jumped into my car and headed toward the station as fast as I could go.

While I was driving, I opened my phone and dialed some numbers.

"_I'm sorry. The person you are trying to reach-" _**Click.**

"_I'm sorry. The person you are-" _**Click.**

"_Hey, it's Amy! I'm doing something right now! I'll-" _**Click.**

"_I'm sorr-" _**Click.**

"_Heyyyyy, this is Neha! I'm, like, so sorry that I missed your-" _**Click.**

"_Hey, it's me, Blaise. Obviousl-" _**Click.**

"_I'm sorry. The person yo-" _**Click.**

"_I'm s-" _**Click.**

Natara Mansingh Williams… Answer your damn phone!

I pulled up to the station and hopped out, not bothering to even close the door of my car. I ran straight through the building, and was met with:

"Hey, Fallon. What's the rush?"

"Woah! Did someone die or something?"

"Where's Natara? I haven't seen her around in a while."

"Malligator! Wanna play Would You Rather?"

I ignored all of the questions and ran straight into his office.

My hands slammed on his desk, making him jump in surprise.

"Detective Fallon… Is there a problem?" Captain Charles Anders asked me.

"Yes, there is a goddamn problem. My partner is missing. She's moved out and is nowhere to be found. Would you happen to know where she is?" I asked him, hopefully.

'_Please say she just moved to a different apartment. Please say she just moved to a different apartment_' I chanted in my head over and over again.

"Huh. You two are so close. I figured that you would be the first one that she would tell…" He said curiously.

"DAMMIT! Just tell me where she is, alright?!" I exclaimed, slamming my palms down on his desk once again, nervousness growing.

"Agent Williams is being relocated back to Quantico by the FBI," he replied, raising an eyebrow.

I stood back, mouth popping open in surprise.

"What?!"

"Yes, the agency called late last night, demanding a transfer for Agent Williams. I thought you knew of this?"

"No, I didn't know of this! When is she leaving?!"

"Her flight leaves at 7:30 this morning."

I checked my watch.  
**7:18 A.M.**

Oh shit.

"What airport?" I asked in a rush.

"The International Airport?" he asked more than said.

"Thanks!" I called, before sprinting out of the office.

"Detective Fallon, where do you think you are going?!" I heard him call out to me.

"To go get my girl back!" I responded just before I ran out the door.

As I got in my car, I thought about my situation. Okay, only 12 minutes until her flight leaves and it takes at least 20 to get to the airport… And this is why I'm glad I'm a cop. I quickly stomped on the accelerator and sped my way towards the airport. Maybe, just maybe I could convince her to stay here, with me. And if not for me, for her friends or for her love for San Francisco. Sure it would pain me if she didn't want to get back together with me, but as long as she was still in the same city as me, I'd take anything.

I just hoped I wouldn't be too late. There was no way I was about to lose her again.

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

I sat on a bench in the waiting area, a pile of luggage scattered around my feet. I checked my watch and mentally cursed. **7:27 **and I still hadn't been called for my flight.

Suddenly, my phone began ringing. I sighed, fished through my overcrowded purse, and flipped it open.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Have you left yet?"

"Do you think I would answer if I was already on the airplane, Neha?" I asked, rolling my eyes but smiling.

"Okay, Mrs. Smarty Pants. Why aren't you on the plane yet? It's almost your departure time."

"I don't know. I guess they're running a little late."

"Hmmm."

"What?"

"….Did you tell him that you were leaving?"

"Tell who?"

"Come on. I know that you know who I'm talking about."

I sighed. She just couldn't let that go, could she?

"No, I didn't say anything to him."

"And why not?"

"Because he wouldn't care either way."

"You don't know that!" she exclaimed, trying to persuade me.

"I do know that. If it was different, then he would have said something to me by now. He doesn't care."

"Yes, he does! That's the only reason why he's staying away! Because he thinks you don't want to talk to him! If anything, it's that he cares about you too much!"

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore, anyways. I'm going to Quantico," I stated, hesitantly.

"Then don't go!"

"I have to. I'm being relocated. It's a part of my job. I can't help it."

"But you never even got to tell him that you were going back to Virginia!"

"He'll find out later this afternoon when he goes to work. Although, he probably won't do anything about it anyways."

"Yes he will and you know it. What if he calls you and tells you not to get on the plane?" she asked out of nowhere.

"Wha-" I started but she interrupted me. "You're not gonna get on the plane if that happens!"

"Tell you what. If he comes, then I won't go. If he doesn't, I get on the plane, forget this ever happened, and leave. Deal?" I asked, jokingly, knowing he wasn't going to come.

"Dea-"

"Flight number 53 is now boarding in Boarding Area D and will be ready for takeoff in just a couple of minutes," I heard the announcement echo through the busy hallways of the airport.

"Finally," I murmured.

"Hey, Neha. I have to go. I'm boarding the plane. Call you when I get to Virginia, okay?"

"Sure. Bye, sis. Have a safe flight."

"Thanks," I replied, before hanging up and picking up all of my suitcases.

_***Mal's P.O.V***_

Shit.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Where was she at?!

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. I'm gonna be too late!

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, did I mention SHIT?!" was all that ran through my mind as I ran through the airport, looking for the familiar coffee-colored haired , tanned, hazel-eyed woman that I fell in love with.

Why couldn't I just have swallowed my damn pride and apologized a month ago?! It would be a lot better than running through the busy airport, looking for the girl I loved, who was about to fly out of my life forever… Literally.

"Natara!" I called, hoping that she would hear me from wherever she was at. Desperation was eating me alive. What if I was too late and she left me? Then what would I do? No, I can't think about that now. I have to find Natara and beg her for another chance. I didn't even know what flight she was on, though. I checked my watch.

**7:36 A.M**

Oh, shit.

I looked around wildly, hoping to find something useful that would help me find her. A little ways off I saw a large sign that said _Information Center._

I ran towards the large area, pushing people out of the way, while feeling a bead of sweat drop down my forehead.

"Excuse me, could you please tell me what flight this is. It's going straight to Quantico."

"Of course," the elderly woman slowly typed something on her computer. I anxiously waited, steadily tapping my foot impatiently. Could this woman be any slower?!

"It should be Flight number 53 which will be in Boarding Area D. It's all the way at the back of the airport," she instructed. Of course it would be at the very back…

I quickly thanked her then sprinted off towards the back of the airport.

Please let me get there in time. Please let me get there in time.

I mean, it was only around 38 minutes after 7. They couldn't possibly have left yet….Right?

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

Thank God I had finally got through all of that. I felt as if I had been standing in line forever. I had already dropped my luggage off to the baggage area to be loaded onto the plane, and was now walking towards the area where I would actually get on the small plane, with just a few extra bags on my arms.

Guilt began to eat at me. Maybe I should have told him that I was leaving. Now I would go the rest of my life, regretting not making up with him. Truth is… Neha was right. I was still in love with him. But there was nothing I could do about that now. I was moving far away from San Francisco… From my friends… From Mal. I forced myself to swallow the tears that were threatening to spill from my eyes. I was not going to cry. Mal would've wanted me to be strong through this. I'll be okay. I'll just meet new people, make new friends, and maybe settle down, get married, and have a family…. The thought made my chest burn inside of me. I didn't want a family if it didn't include Mal in it. A small part of me wished, hoped, and prayed, that he would come just to tell me goodbye… But that was wishful thinking. I was too late, anyhow. I should've told him how I felt before I had gotten here. I shouldn't have been so darn stubborn that night. And now, I was starting to deeply regret it.

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

"Boarding Area A… Boarding Area B… Boarding Area C…." I mumbled, as I sprinted past each one.

"Here! Boarding Area D!" I exclaimed excitedly, as I sprinted down the long hallway.

"Come on. Come on. Please still be here. Please still be here!" I chanted over and over. If the plane had already left, I would shoot myself, just for not being able to tell her in time.

To tell her that I was completely and desperately in love with her.

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

"Ticket please," one of the burly security men asked. There were two of them, standing in front of the giant door, leading outside to where we would enter the plane.

"Oh, of course," I said, fishing it out of my jacket pocket.

"Here you go," I told him, dully.

He examined it for a moment before handing it back, "Thank you." The other man opened the door, leading to my sad, lonely, depressed future.

I walked out into the bright sunlight, squinting and shielding my eyes. In front of me was the small airplane, with a long stepladder leading up the side of it.

'_Goodbye San Francisco," _I thought sadly, before continuing my walk.

_***Mal's P.O.V.***_

"Ticket," one of the burly security guys ordered, holding his hand out.

"I don't need a ticket. I've just got to tell a friend something real quick," I responded, trying to push past the guards.

"Oh no you don't," one responded, grabbing my arm. "You're not going anywhere. No ticket, no entrance."

"Hey, wait. You don't understand! There's a girl in there and I have to tell her something important! Please!" I begged, eyeing the door suspiciously, hoping she would come through the door, ready to take me back.

"No."

"I'm a cop!"

"I'm sorry, sir. No ticket, no entrance. That's the rules."

"Screw the rules! Look, I'm Detective Mal Fallon and I could kick both of your asses right now if I wanted to. Now Let. Me. Through." I growled through my gritted teeth. These idiots were going to make me miss my girl!

They both looked at each other in confusion. I took this to my advantage and darted past them, out the door, and into the bright sunlight. The wind whipped my hair back, as I looked for the dreaded airplane. I finally spotted it and sprinted towards it.

And that's when I saw the coffee-color haired, tanned, hazel-eyed woman that I fell in love with, walking up the steps on the plane. My heart literally stopped. I wasn't too late. I finally had a chance to get her back… and I wasn't going to miss that chance anymore.

"Natara!" I yelled, hoping she would hear me over all the noise. It seemed like she didn't because she kept walking up the steps. I sprinted even further down the pathway, closer to the plane, calling her name.

"NATARA! WAIT! PLEASE!" I begged, praying to God that she would hear me. If she got on the plane, there would be no way that I would be able to get on from there just to tell her something.

My heart fluttered in relief as she slowly, disbelievingly turned around, and locked eyes with me.

_**~Natara's P.O.V.~**_

_(A few seconds earlier)_

I slowly, begrudgingly walked up the steps of the plane, not wanting to leave. What if he didn't come? What if he wanted me to leave? What if he never even cared about me in the first place? I bit my lips and ordered myself not to cry.

Step after step I climbed the long, never ending steps up the plane. I didn't want them to end. I never wanted to leave San Francisco, to leave all of my friends, to leave work…To leave Mal.

I missed him so much. I hadn't seen him in a little over a month anyways. Sometimes, I swear I could hear his voice calling out my name. In fact, I could hear it now. Gosh, I was going insane. I seriously needed to check myself into a mental hospital. I shook my head disgustedly and kept walking. What was wrong with me? I think I had officially lost my mind…But it had sounded so real. Just like his voice…

"NATARA! WAIT! PLEASE!" I heard, clearly.

Wait, that wasn't inside my head. That came straight from behind me. But if it wasn't in my head, then that meant…

I slowly turned around and blinked, disbelievingly.

Below me, a couple of yards away, slowing down from a jog and coming to a stop was Mal Fallon.

His hair was being whipped around everywhere by the wind; his tie looping around his neck, flying behind him; while looking at me with wide eyes, chest heaving.

I couldn't believe it. I just could not believe that this was actually happening.

My face was most likely arranged into shock, with my mouth slightly open in surprise, just staring at him as if he wasn't real. I began to think my mind was just playing tricks on me, because he hadn't said anything yet. Just standing there, breathing hard, and staring at me. My soft hazel eyes locked onto his electric blue orbs.

"I'm sorry…" he mouthed to me, a sad expression on his face.

It all happened so fast.

I dropped the bags that I was carrying, absentmindedly, and began running down the steps, taking two at a time, then sprinting as fast as my legs could carry me towards him.

Before I knew it, I had jumped into his open arms, my arms wrapping themselves around his neck and squeezing tightly.

His arms wound around my lower back, lifting me a few inches off the ground, hugging me into him tightly so there was no space left in between us.

I buried my head in his shoulder, trying to stop the flow of tears that leaked down my cheeks. I just couldn't believe he was here. This had to be some sort of dream… But it felt so real.

Mal pressed his mouth against my shoulder, squeezing me lovingly to him even tighter, never wanting to let go. We stayed wrapped in each other's arms, hearts beating wildly.

"Natara, I'm so sorry for everything. I never should've gotten mad at you. There's no excuse for that," he whispered against my shoulder.

We slowly pulled away to look into each other's eyes, arms still wrapped around the other. My eyes were red and wet from all the crying, I knew. As I looked into his eyes, I noticed the rims were a slight shade of red. He set me back down on my feet and tenderly wiped a tear away from my cheek.

"Mal I-" I started, but he cut me off.

"No, you need to listen to this for just a second, then I will let you talk," he said, looking intently in my eyes to see if I understood. I nodded my head. He inhaled deeply before continuing.

"I'm so sorry, Nat. I was such an idiot. I was just really grumpy and cranky that night but I never imagined that you would just disappear off the face of the earth like that."

I gulped, immediately feeling guilty.

"I know. I'm sor-" I started but he put his hand over my mouth.

"It's my turn first. Shhhh," he said, gently. I nodded, so he took his hand off of my mouth. He continued.

"This last month has been hell for me. I feel like I've literally been to hell and back. Every night I would dream about how big of an idiot I was for letting you just slip through my fingers like that. That night, I was being such a dick. I promised you and myself that I would never act like Oscar had treated you, but that night, I crossed that line and acted just like him just because I was angry. I shouldn't have overreacted like that. So what, you forgot about the date? You were working late and I should've just realized that before I went all psycho and blamed you for everything. I'm sorry for saying that I should go back with Selene. I didn't mean a word of that. I never wanted Selene. I was just trying to make you jealous. I only want you. I'm sorry for even mentioning Oscar. I should've have even brought him up. That was low… Way low, even for me. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry for not even trying to make it work between us. I'm sorry for just giving up. I'm sorry for blaming everything on you. I said that it was never going to work between us. But I want it to work. More than anything. I'm sorry I never got to talk to you. I'm sorry I haven't apologized sooner. I'm sorry for ignoring you and talking to Blaise more than you during our relationship. I was a jerk and I almost lost you for good. I'm sorry for not putting enough effort in our relationship to make it last. I should have, could have done more to make it work, but I didn't. And I'm sorry. But you were going to leave," his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and continued, "You were going to leave without even telling me. I had to find out by going by your apartment and asking the receptionist. I know we hadn't talked for a month but I think I still deserved to know…" he took a deep breath and continued.

"During our break up, I tried to move on, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. Whether you were okay, or you already had moved on to someone else, or if you were even still in San Francisco. Everything reminded me of you and not being with you drove me crazy so I realized that I needed to get you back, but you basically disappeared. When I heard you were leaving, my heart broke into pieces. I thought I would never get another chance to be with you, to talk to you, to hold you, to touch you, or to kiss you. Just the thought of you being out of my life forever made me sick and I couldn't breathe. I can't lose you again. I hope you forgive me. During our fight, you asked me what was the point in us having a relationship if we're not even going to try to make it work and I didn't have an answer for you. Well, I've got an answer for you now. It's because we love each other. And it's because I love you that I'm willing to forget everything that happened that night, if you are willing to forget, also."

More tears fell from my eyes, as I stared into his shining blue ones.

He reached up and wiped them away. "Why are you crying?"

"I thought you wouldn't come," I responded, my chest feeling heavy.

"Of course I did…. Natara, I love you."

I gasped in shock. He still loved me? After all this time?

"Mal, I-" I started but was cut off.

"Excuse me, miss? Are you getting on the plane?" A male, British voice came from the plane.

I turned around, wriggling out of Mal's arms, to see a steward staring at me intently.

"Please. Give me just a moment," I asked. He nodded and ducked his head back inside the plane.

I turned around to see Mal's face crumble into a pained expression.

"You… You're still going?" he whispered.

"Mal…" I started but stopped. For once in my life, I couldn't think of anything to say.

"So that's it then? I'm too late. After all that I just said… After all that I just confessed. You're still leaving me," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Tell me. Did what we had even matter to you anymore? …Do I even matter to you anymore?" he whispered, voice cracking.

"Of course you matter, Mal. You mean everything to me."

"Then why are you leaving?" he asked, looking at the ground, eyes hardening.

"I'm being relocated. I have to leave or I lose my job."

"Then stay here with me. Please," he begged. "I've lost you once. I don't want to lose you again."

"I really can't stay."

"Fine then-" He said, gulping. Oh no. Here was the part where he cut everything off with me and broke my heart.

"I'll just… I'll just have to go with you." He finished, staring intently in my eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't go with me. You have a job here. You have friends here. You don't want to lose that."

"But I don't wanna lose you…"

"Miss please! We're almost ready for take off. You really need to find your seat," the British steward called once again.

"Please just give me one more minute!" I exclaimed.

"Miss, I can't do that. Either you get on or you stay off-"

"Back the f*** off, okay?! She said she'd be there in a minute!" Mal growled at the steward.

The steward scowled and ducked back in the plane, once again.

Mal refocused his attention on me.

"Please Natara. Stay here. You don't really want to leave your friends… Leave your job… Leave me, here. Do you?" he pleaded, voice sounding pained.

"I have to go."

"No, you don't. Natara, I love you. I've already lost you once and I can't lose you again! Please Natara! I want to marry you! Please just stay here and marry me. Will you? Will you become Mrs. Fallon and stay here? Please give me that chance. I'm begging you." he pleaded, grabbing my shoulders and gently shaking them.

Tears leaked even more out of my eyes as I began to sob.

"I love you… I truly do. But, I just can't. I have to go… Goodbye Mal," I whispered, before twisting out of his grasp and ran towards the plane, crying my heart out. I really did want to marry Mal, but I couldn't. He needed to forget about me. To find someone 100 times better. He deserved someone perfect… And that someone just wasn't me.

I quickly ran inside the plane, found a seat, and flopped myself down. I looked out the window with fresh tears in my eyes. I could just barely make out the silhouette of Mal, who was sadly walking back towards the airport, his back hunched over. Just before he went in the doors, he looked back one last time, trying to spot me in the plane, and I could've sworn I saw a single tear trail down his cheek, before he turned and trudged inside.

I leaned my head against the window, tears streaming down my face. I pressed my palm against the cool, glass surface, as if trying to reach out and grab Mal. I missed him like crazy already.

Sure, it hurt me and him to do this, but he'd get over it by tomorrow and find a new, better woman. So, I was doing the right thing... But why did it feel so wrong?

**_*Mal's P.O.V.*_**

I trudged inside my apartment, wet from the rain outside, and heartbroken. I headed straight for the fridge and grabbed a beer. If I was going to forget about this woman, then I would have to have alot of help.

I walked into my living room and sat myself down on the couch, taking a long swig of my bottle.

She was amazing, beautiful, smart, talented... She was perfect for me. And I had, yet again, let her slip through my fingers. Why did she have to leave me? When I had confessed to her that I wanted to be with her again? When I had asked her to marry me? Of course, I'm not perfect, but I don't see what's all wrong with me and why she wouldn't want to... Unless she didn't love me. That thought brought a whole new wave of sadness over me, so I took another sip.

I heard the thunder from outside crackle loudly, vibrating off the walls of my apartment.

What was wrong with me? It wasn't like I was abusive and treated her horribly. I had treated her fairly well, if I do say so myself. I tried to treat her like a princess, because heck. After all she had been through, she had deserved it. I had never hit a girl, besides those few times that those girls were serial killers and I was trying to arrest them. I wasn't ugly. I wasn't beautifully handsome though, either. So... What was wrong with me? What did I ever do to deserve this?

This was all my fault. If I had never gotten so upset over how she was late, then she'd probably be here in my arms, snuggling into my chest, while watching a romantic comedy on the movie channel. My heart ached. I was suffering from a severe disease... Of heartbreak.

Why? Why did I have to be such a freakin' girl and freak out over one simple little date? Why did I get so mad that she was so late? And only because she was working and had forgotten. All I really wanted was for her to be here with me, and to once again, be mine. Mine to hold, to kiss, to touch, to love. I swallowed the lump in my throat and put my face in my hands, sadly. There was a small click, but I paid no attention to it.

"Why did you leave?!" I mumbled to noone in particular.

"I didn't..." a voice came from behind me.

No way. It couldn't be possible. I had to be dreaming. But her voice sounded so real.

I whipped my head around in the direction of the familiar voice. My mouth hung open in surprise.

There, standing on my doorstep, was Natara, soaked from head to foot. Her hair was wet, hanging around her shoulders, and clothes clinging to her body. Even when she was soaking wet, she still looked beautiful to me.

I sat on my couch, gawking at her in surprise. She simply stood in my doorway, panting, staring back at me.

I finally snapped out of it and stammered, "N...Natara?" I stood up, off of the couch and stared at her, disbelievingly.

"I couldn't go to Quantico, Mal," she told me, leaving the door wide open and coming to stand a few feet away from me.

"Wh... Why not?"

"Because... I couldn't go. I couldn't leave you here."

"You... You got off the plane." I stated.

She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. "I got off the plane."

My chest tightened. She had gotten off of the plane. She had actually gotten off. I felt tears well up in my own eyes, as I crossed over the rest of the way, and slid my arms around her, in a tight embrace. She immediately wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing tightly and letting her tears fall all over my jacket. But I didn't care. All I cared about was that I, once again, had my girl in my arms... That is, if she'd take me back.

"I'm sorry, Mal. I'm so so so so so sorry!" she exclaimed.

"Natara, I-" I started, pulling away to face her.

"No, it's my turn to talk. You've had your turn, so now it's mine," she replied, taking a deep breath.

I nodded and waited for her to start again.

"I'm so sorry that I was so late for our date. I didn't realize how important it was to you and I had totally forgotten about something as important as that. I'm sorry for ignoring you for the past month and completely disappearing. I was heartbroken. I didn't want to see you, because I had thought that you had deserved someone way better than me, so I tried to forget about you completely, but I never could. I know this is selfish, but I don't want you to be with someone better than me. I want you to be with me. More than anything. But I tried to hide from the fact that I had fallen for you. I changed my number and work hours just so I could ignore you. So you could forget about me. I'm sorry for not trying to make our relationship work that night. I'm sorry for almost leaving. I thought it was the perfect chance to finally get away from you, so you would quit bugging me. I'd just move out of the state and eventually, forget about everything that we had. But soon I realized that I didn't want to forget. I didn't want to forget about what we had, or how I felt, or simply, forget about you. I wanted to tell you that I was leaving but I figured that it would be too painful. I couldn't face you because I was scared. Scared that I might break down and ask you to be mine once again, but to only figure out that you had already moved on. So I just figured that you would find out later, but wouldn't care. I had no idea that you had been suffering this whole time. That I had brought so much damage to you by completely cutting you off. I want us to have a relationship now. A happy relationship, Mal. I want our relationship to work out. I don't want to mess this up again. I can't leave San Francisco.. I can't leave my friends.. I can't leave you, Mal. Not for anything in this world. This is where I want to be... With you, in San Francisco. I love you, M-" she got out before she was interrupted.

I grabbed her face in both of my hands, silencing her by pressing my lips against her soft, pink ones.

God, I'd missed this.

After she had gotten over the shock of it all, she began to kiss back, deepening the kiss. I kissed her passionately, releasing all of my pent-up emotions that had been stored up for the past month. My arms wrapped around the small of her back, pulling her impossibly closer to me, leaving no space inbetween us. Her arms snaked their way around my neck.

I pulled away for a second and stared at her curiously.

"What about your job?" I asked.

"I quit the FBI. I'm being transferred to the SFPD," she responded, grinning brightly.

"Seriously?! So you never have to move again?"

"Seriously."

I grinned and kissed her again. Our lips molded together, as the kiss became desperate, as if making up for lost time between us. I broke away for a second to slam the door closed, brought my mouth back to hers, and slammed her against the door, pressing myself impossibly close to her once again. After a few seconds, I gently nipped on her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She instinctively opened her mouth wide. My tongue slid straight in, exploring her mouth. God, how I've missed this, so, so much.

After a few seconds, she pulled away, out of breath, so I placed kisses down her jawline to her neck, sucking on her tender spots. She let out a small moan in delight, tangling her fingers in my hair, pulling gently, and moved her wet hair, granting me better access to her neck. I placed light kisses down her neck and to her shoulder. When I got to her jacket sleeve, which was covering up half of her shoulder, I yanked it down, exposing her bare shoulder and continued my feather-like kisses. I momentarily stopped my kisses as I licked from the top of her arm, up her shoulder, and to her jawline, making her shudder in delight. When she had regained her breathing, she tugged on my hair, making my head go with it, as she captured my lips with hers. This time, though, it was her turn to bite my bottom lip. I opened wide and lowly moaned as her tongue slid in my mouth, dancing around.

A minute later, I pulled away, placing my forehead against hers, out of breath.

"Just... Just promise me one thing, okay?" she asked, biting her bottom lip.

"Anything..." I breathed out.

"Promise me that we'll never have another fight like that ever again. We won't fight like that anymore," she pleaded, begging me to agree with her eyes.

I nodded. "I won't happen again, I promise." She grinned and pecked me on lips for a second before pulling away.

"Yes," she breathed out.

"Yes?" I asked, confused.

"Yes to your question from earlier." She grinned brightly.

I raised my eyebrow at her.

She smiled even wider and replied, "Yes, I will marry you."

My eyes widened and a huge smile spread onto my face.

"You will? Seriously?!" I asked, laughing.

"Yes, seriously," she said, giggling at my reaction.

I grinned and kissed her again, this time much sweeter and more passionate, wrapped my arms around her waist, picked her up, and spun her around a few times. She giggled in delight. I finally put her down and gave her a loving peck on the lips.

"I love you, Natara Williams," I murmured against her lips.

She grinned even brighter and replied, "Soon-to-be Natara Fallon."

My heart swelled with pride and love. This amazing woman, this beautiful, incredible, smart woman had agreed to be mine, forever. I could finally, officially call her mine, forever and always.

"I love you Natara Fallon," those words sounded even sweeter coming out of my mouth. They were all I ever wanted. To make this wonderful woman mine... And my dream was finally happening.

"I love you too, Mal Fallon," she whispered. I brought her lips back to mine, kissing her lovingly over and over again.

She pulled away abruptly and looked me in the eyes.

"Oh, and on our wedding day, I promise I'll try not to be three hours late," she said, sheepishly.

I laughed loudly, happiness and love rolling over me in waves.

"As long as you become mine, I don't care how late you are."

She grinned and leaned forward, kissing me again.

I've never felt so happy in my whole entire life.

Well, I guess Natara is way more than Somebody That I Used To Know.

_***Author's Note***_

_**DON'T WORRY! I DID NOT DROP OFF OF THE FACE OF THE EARTH! I'M BACK, BABY!**_

_**Yes, I know. It's long and overdue. Truly sorry about that, by the way. I just realized that I hadn't uploaded in about 4 weeks or so... Yeah, kinda makes me feel bad. I've just been so busy with school and homecoming and exams and stuff! I'm sorry! I can only type on weekends, so when I typed this story, it was so long that I had to take several weekends to finish it... So yeah, it's 5 in the morning, and I still haven't gone to bed yet... :D Who needs sleep, right?!**_

_**I think I can relate to this chapter very well, since Natara "dropped off the face of the earth" and I feel as if I have to... But oh well. **_

_**Anyways, I have to get up in about 4 hours, so I'm going to try to sleep some. Until next week! (Or the next, or the next, or the next, orrr the next... :})**_

_**I hope you like it! Cause, it took me FOREVER to write. I'm not kidding. **_

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter and please... Do it again! :)**_


	6. All I Want for Christmas Is You

**Hey you guys! Whaddup, party people?! I'm back! :D Sorry I haven't uploaded in forever! Life's been crazy, my friend. ****Very ****crazy. Well, during Nov. (when I was supposed to update) I was never home except on the weekends but on the weekends, I always went somewhere. Then for Thanksgiving Break, I went to Walt Disney World in Florida where I danced in the parade that showed on TV on Christmas morning! :D Anyways, I was gone for almost two weeks and I had forgotten to take my laptop with me, which sucked. Then when I got back, I got busy with school, homework, cheer, and basketball yada-yada-yada. I also got braces. Ewwwww. **

**By the way, I know this is a little late for Christmas but I began writing it on Dec. 23th and wanted to post it by Christmas Day. Well, on Christmas Eve, I was gone all day so I said, 'Hey. I'll just type and upload on Christmas Day.' But nature was like, 'L-O-L, NOPE!' So, yeah. I caught a virus on Christmas Day. Yes, it sucked. Half of my day was spent with my head in the toilet having my breakfast revisit me (I'm sure you all wanted to hear about that ;) ) and the other half was spent knocked out cold on the couch from the medicine. And the day after Christmas, I went shopping… Although I couldn't walk straight because I was so dizzy, but waaaaht-evaaaa. I'm still feeling kind of dizzy by the way, which won't be good because I have a basketball game in a week. Oh well! Enough of my ranting! **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Please share the love for this one also! It's 5 in the morning and I still haven't slept yet. Share some love for the poor girl who is losing her sleep. Thank you for being such a patient reader! I love you all! And….Well… Enjoy. **

**P.S. This song is All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey. Okay? Okay!**

**P. S .S. I absolutely love writing about Seth! Yes, I know I made Mal very mean to him. But, ugh! It was too hard to resist! I had so much fun typing it! So if Seth is your favorite character then… Well… I'm sorry. :}**

**P. S. S. This isn't one of my greatest works. I still feel like it's 'eh' because it was so rushed. But… I dunno. What do you think?**

**AND NOW, bugreid PROUDLY PRESENTS….**

**All I Want for Christmas Is You**

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the station  
Everyone was partying, even a Dalmatian.  
The stockings were hung on the desks with care,  
In hopes that a serial killer wouldn't appear there.

The officers were all dancing on the dance floor (Supposed to be in bed),  
While visions from alcohol messed with their heads.  
And Captain in his Santa hat, and I in my lab coat,  
Had just settled our beer, so we could bring some good 'cheer.'

When out of the dance floor, there arose such a clatter,  
I sprang out of the lab to see what was the matter.  
Away from the computers I flew like a flash,  
Tore through the crowd and… And… Ah crap! I can't think of anything else!" Kai whined, pouting.

Kai, Amy, Mal, and Natara were all huddled up in a corner, listening to Kai recite his remade version of _Twas the Night before Christmas_ while the rest of the station was either dancing on the dance floor or helping themselves to the refreshments table. It was the station's annual Christmas Eve party, after all.

Amy and Natara giggled as Kai tried to come up with the next line.

"What goes with threw up the sashes? We don't have any sashes around here! …What the heck are sashes, anyways?!" he exclaimed, exasperated.

"Nice try, Kai," Mal chuckled.

"I thought it was," Kai spoke bravely, puffing out his chest.

"It doesn't even make sense! Dalmatians can't party!" Amy giggled uncontrollably.

"And Anders definitely isn't wearing a Santa hat…" Mal said, obviously imagining the situation in his head.

"It goes with the story!" Kai defended, huffing and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Suuure it does," Mal smirked at him.

Kai huffed once again and grabbed Amy's arm, dragging her away. "Come on, Amy. Let's go eat fruitcake until we puke."

Mal and Natara stood there, chuckling at Kai, for a few more moments. Mal noticed that most of the people in the station tried to avoid being caught 'under the mistletoe' where it was hung above the doorway.

"Have you seen Jeremy?" Natara asked all of the sudden, snapping Mal out of his thoughts.

Mal couldn't help the small pang of jealousy that coursed through his body.

"No," he said, a little more harshly than intended.

"Oh," Natara looked at her feet, suddenly fascinated with the hem of her dress.

"Why?" Mal forced out, trying not to sound so harsh.

"I need to ask him a question about this case that we're working on…" she trailed off.

"No, no, no, no, no ma'am. No work tonight. It's Christmas Eve and you're at a party. You should be having fun, not thinking about work. Tonight is a night of fun," he explained, grabbing her shoulders and steering her to the drink table. He picked up two random drinks and held one out for her.

"Drink?" he asked, smiling his signature grin.

"Thank you," she said daintily, picking it out of Mal's grasp and taking a small sip from it.

She instantly wrinkled her nose and pulled it away.

"What is that?" she asked, coughing a bit.

"I have no idea…I'm pretty sure Kai made it, though," he said, thoughtfully, staring at his drink intensely.

"Well, it's strong," she cleared her throat.

He grinned and held his drink to his lips.

"Nothing a man can't handle," he quickly gulped it down, cringing as the liquid burned his throat while going down. He coughed a little bit and cleared his throat.

"So much for being a man," Natara laughed at his uncomfortable expression.

Mal rolled his eyes and sat beside Natara, watching everyone dance on the makeshift dance floor a few feet in front of them.

"Soooo. Mal," Natara started.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"What do you want for Christmas?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Nothing…" he shrugged.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"You can't not want something."

"Yes, I can."

"Come on, Mal. You've got to want something."

He grinned a little. "Well, I guess there is just _**one **_thing…"

"What is it?" she asked excitedly.

"It's a secret," he whispered.

"Mal! What do you want for Christmas?!" she whined, pouting.

"You…" he whispered, winking once and smirking.

Natara rolled her eyes, a small blush dusting her cheeks. "Come on, be serious. What do you want?"

'_I was being serious.' _Mal thought. "Well, other than your beautiful self? Nothing."

"You're lying," she accused, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips at him.

"You're the best Christmas gift anyone could ever have," he shrugged as if what he said meant nothing. Natara felt her heart flutter as his sweet words.

She stared directly into his sparkling blue eyes as she murmured, "That is honestly the sweetest thing that anyone has ever said to m-"

"Hey, Natara! Some man over there said that he wanted to meet you," Blaise came up to them, nodding her head behind the dance floor.

"Sure…Okay. I'll be there in just a sec," Natara stated, never breaking eye contact with Mal.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed as she stood up, starting to walk away. She looked back to see Mal shrug and mouth back, "It's fine," before waving her off. She turned around reluctantly and walked across the room, greeting the man with a smile on her face.

"Having a fun Christmas so far, Fallon?" Blaise asked, going to sit by him.

He shrugged. "No one has died, I'm off for the next few days, San Francisco is safe, and Kai has managed not to blow anything up so far, so yeah. I guess it's been fairly well."

Blaise chuckled.

"What about you?"

"Eh, same as always, I guess. Christmas is Christmas."

"I know what you mean," Mal leaned back in his chair.

It was silent for a moment before Blaise interrupted it with, "She keeps looking over here, you know."

He raised his eyebrows giving her a look that said, 'Who?'

"Your girlfriend."

He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Blaise, you know I don't have a girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes and groaned frustratingly. "You know who I'm talking about! Natara! She keeps looking over here at us!"

His blue eyes darted immediately over to where Natara was talking to the man, laughing politely at something that he had said.

"Really?" Mal asked, never taking his eyes off of her.

"Yep. Why don't you ask her to dance?" Blaise asked, nudging him in the shoulder. Mal's attention turned back to Blaise as he scoffed.

"Come on, Blaise. You know that I don't dance," he rolled his eyes at her ridiculous suggestion.

"Well you had better learn how to…"

He furrowed his eyebrows once again.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because Holland seems to be eyeballin' your girl…" she nodded her head towards the other side of the precinct. Mal looked to find Seth Holland staring at Natara from across the room, a slight smirk on his face.

"You…You don't really think she'd dance with him…Do you?" Mal asked, nervously tugging at the collar of his suit.

Blaise shrugged. "I dunno. Seth won't take 'no' for an answer. He'll just keep bugging her and bugging her until she agrees."

Mal's face hardened as jealousy clouded over, his eyes narrowing. "No way."

"Yes way. It's either you or Holland who gets the girl," Blaise said, a slight smirk on her face. '_Keep going, Blaise. Push him a little further. Just one more big thing and he'll get off his lazy ass and finally get the girl of his dreams.' _Blaise thought to herself.

"She wouldn't." Mal's eyes darted over to where Seth had taken one large gulp of his drink and set it down on a nearby desk. Seth straightened out his suit and fixed his tie then began walking casually towards Natara.

"She might. I mean, it's hard to say no to a guy who won't take 'no' for an answer. Remember? He even got _me _to sleep with him. I mean, if he can get me, he can get anybody…" she trailed off.

There was a loud clatter as Mal sprung from his seat, jogging at a quick pace across the dance floor.

Blaise smirked as she watched him shove through people, muttering quick apologies, as he tried to reach Natara before Seth could.

'_Mission accomplished.' _She thought to herself, tipping her head back and swallowing some of her drink.

Suddenly, Jeremy walked up in front of Blaise, cutting off her view of Mal and Seth. She looked up and scowled at him.

"What do you want, Redbird?" she asked.

He looked taken aback for a moment before clearing his throat and asking, "Wanna dance?"

"No." She answered quickly.

He looked offended, eyes searching the ground embarrassed.

"Oh…" he said, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Blaise let out a loud laugh before saying, "Gotcha. I'm kidding. Come on, Rookie. Show me them fancy dancing skills that you learned on the reservation." She hopped out of her chair, taking his hand.

His eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't learn how to dance on the reser-WOAH!" he cut off his original sentence, as Blaise tugged roughly on his hand (almost making him fall on his face), leading him onto the dance floor.

Mal quickly jogged up to Natara, who was still politely talking to the elderly man.

"Excuse me, may I interrupt?" Mal asked the man.

"Of course," the man smiled at him, before turning and walking away.

Natara looked up at Mal, confusion written across her face.

"Mal, wh-" she started but he interrupted her by putting his hand out.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked quickly, looking over his shoulder to see Seth getting even closer.

She stood shocked for a moment, unable to say anything.

"It's either me or Holland," he nodded his head backwards, in the direction of the now approaching man.

Her eyes widened, placing her hand in his. "Definitely. Let's go." He tightened his grip on her hand as he led her out onto the dance floor.

He spotted Seth as he walked with Natara in tow, gawking at the couple with his mouth popped open in surprise. Mal smirked proudly at Seth's shocked face and tilted his head up cockily.

As soon as Mal had found an empty spot to dance (that was far away from Seth) he turned around to face his dance partner.

He gulped, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Ah crap…" he muttered to himself.

"What?" Natara asked, as she draped her left hand on Mal's shoulder.

"It's…uh. It's been a long time since I actually….Um, danced," he stuttered, placing his hand lightly on her waist.

"Really?" she asked, curiously, tilting her head to the side.

He nodded and shrugged. "I really don't _do _dancing. It's not exactly my thing."

She let out a soft laugh and began to gently sway. "Well then follow my lead."

"I thought the guy was supposed to lead?" Mal asked, smirking.

"Well, I thought you couldn't dance?" she asked.

"I never said I couldn't. I just said I didn't."

"Then lead me, Choirboy, if you know so much," she ordered, a small smirk playing on the edges of her lips.

Mal's eyes widened. "No, no. It's okay. You can go ahead and lead, Princess," he assured her.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Positive," he confirmed, giving a sharp nod.

She giggled and gently began to sway, Mal following.

After a couple of minutes of comfortable silence, Mal began to take the lead.

"Getting the hang of it, are we now?" Natara asked, smiling.

"I sure am," he smiled back, tenderly.

Natara let out a breath of laughter as she leaned her head on Mal's shoulder. Blaise and Jeremy danced up behind Natara, where she couldn't see them.

Mal looked over Natara's head to see Blaise smirking at him, with a knowing look on her face.

He smiled back and mouthed, 'Thank you.'

She raised an eyebrow, faking confusion. 'For what?' she mouthed back, already knowing the answer.

'For the Seth thing.' he acknowledged, now noticing how she had mentally pushed him to where he couldn't stand it if Seth had asked Natara to dance.

Blaise winked at him before mouthing, 'No problem.'

She then nodded towards the corner. Mal turned his head in that direction to see Seth pouting, his arms crossed over his chest, sulking. Mal let out a soft laugh at the sight.

'Someone please take a picture.'

'I got it.' Blaise reached down to her feet, pulled her cell phone out of her shoe, sneakily snapped a picture of Seth sulking, then returned it to her shoe.

Jeremy and Mal stared at her curiously.

"You keep your phone in your shoe?" Jeremy asked.

It was then that Natara leaned up, her head away from Mal's shoulder. She turned around and spotted Jeremy and Blaise as Blaise said, "Of course I do…You don't?" as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Mal, Blaise, and Jeremy shared a laugh as Natara looked at all of them curiously. She looked up at Mal's face, questionably. Mal's blue eyes met hers as he answered her question before she could even ask it. He just shook his head as if to say 'Don't worry about it.' Natara just shrugged and let it go.

Jeremy and Blaise danced away as Natara leaned her head against Mal's shoulder, once again, sighing contentedly.

Mal bent his head down slightly and leaned it against the side of Nataras'.

They swayed gently to the beat of the slow song, each enjoying the feeling of being so close to the other.

All of a sudden, they both heard a person behind them loudly clearing their throat. They both broke apart and turned around to see who had interrupted them. Mal slightly groaned as he saw who it was that had interrupted his 'moment.'

"What do you want, Seth?" he growled, an irritated expression on his face.

"Can I butt in?" he asked, smiling widely at Natara. Natara looked up at Mal with wide eyes silently begging him to say no.

Mal looked back at Seth and smiled innocently. "Oh, hell no," he replied sweetly, before pulling Natara closer and dancing away from Seth.

Natara giggled as Mal found another suitable place to dance, far, far away from Seth.

"What?" Mal asked, a bright smile on his face.

"It's just…How you said that! It was in the nicest voice ever!" she laughed.

"Well, if we're going to crush his dreams, we might as well be polite about it," he shrugged, a smirk forming onto his face.

"We're? What do you mean by 'we're going to crush his dreams?' You're the one who said that he couldn't dance with me," she stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on. You and I both know that you didn't want to dance with _him_," Mal spat out the word as if it were forbidden.

"And what if I did?" Natara asked, straightening up.

Mal's eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly in shock. He took a slight step away from her so now just his fingertips were touching her.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

Natara just stared at him seriously in response.

"Really?" he asked, a horrified expression coming onto his face. She again said nothing.

"Nat, you can't be serious!" he exclaimed, his heart beating rapidly. _'Did she actually want to dance with Seth? Has she gone insane?! Oh, good Lord. She's fallen for Holland. Now I'm never going to get a girlfriend…" _he thought to himself.

"P… Natara… You… N-No way… Seth? M… Wh…Why?!" he stammered, too shocked and bewildered to make a complete sentence.

Natara held her façade for another moment, before bursting out in laughter. Mal just stared at her as if she was going crazy. Which, in his opinion, she was.

"I'm… I'm just kidding, Mal!" she managed to get out in a fit of laughter. She pulled him back to her, where Mal's whole arm could slip around her waist. Mal's face softened as she pulled him closer, leaning her head on his shoulder, while still laughing.

"You should have seen your face!" she exclaimed.

Mal sighed in relief. "Thank God…" he muttered, before putting his arm around her waist and pulling her even closer to him so that they were pressed against each other.

"I can't believe that you believed that!"

"Yeah well… You're a pretty convincing actress…" he trailed off, starting to sway once again, nervousness not yet gone.

She giggled once more before settling down. "You know I would never like Seth Holland. Did you really believe that I would want to dance with him more than you?" she asked, staring into his blue eyes.

He shrugged. "Well, you never really know. Seth is pretty convincing," he said, remembering his and Blaise's conversation from earlier.

"Yeah, but... I wouldn't want to dance with him more than I would with you," she murmured softly, leaning her head against his chest.

"Really?" he asked, a smile flitting across his face as his nervousness quickly melted.

"Mmmmmhm. You're a much better dancer, anyways," he could feel her grinning through his shirt.

He grinned back, yet rolled his eyes. "Now, I know you're lying."

"I'm not! You're actually not that bad for someone who claims he can't dan-"

"Doesn't!" Mal corrected.

Natara rolled her eyes. "Doesn't dance."

"Much better," he nodded appreciatively.

Soon, the slow song was over and everyone was clapping. Mal and Natara pulled apart and politely clapped along, although they didn't know why.

"Why are we clapping again?" Natara whispered to Mal.

"I don't know. Maybe to tell the DJ that we liked that song that he picked out…?" he shrugged, making Natara giggle.

"I'm going to go get something to drink. Want something?" Mal asked.

"Please."

Mal nodded and dashed through the crowd, towards the bar.

His eyes skimmed over all of the different drinks until he found the perfect ones. Just as he was about to grab them, someone kicked the back of his kneecap, making his left leg buckle. He placed his hand out to catch himself on the bar table and turned around to frown at the person. His eyebrows furrowed as he saw Blaise there, still dancing with Jeremy.

"What?!" Mal hiss-whispered.

Blaise stared at the dance floor, hinting that Mal should take a look over there. Mal's eyes skimmed the crowd trying to find something interesting until his blue orbs landed on two people. Mal's scowl reappeared on his face, much deeper this time, as he took in the scene before him, eyes narrowing.

Seth had his arms wrapped around Natara's waist (lower than Mal would have liked them to be) tightly and trying to pull Natara even closer than she already was (which was too close for Mal's liking.) Natara awkwardly had her arms stretched out as far as they would go, placing her fingertips on Seth's shoulders, making as much space in between them as possible.

"What the crap is she doing dancing with Seth?!" he cursed under his breath. He quickly scooped up the 2 drinks and muttered a 'Thanks' and 'Bye' to Blaise, giving her a nod that said, 'I'll fix this.' He walked through the dance floor as fast as he could go while holding two drinks, until he spotted the two people. He came to a direct stop right in front of them.

"What the _**hell **_do you think you're doing?!" Mal snapped.

"Mal!" Natara sighed in relief.

"Dancing, of course. Why?" Seth smoothly replied.

"I told you that you couldn't dance with her," Mal narrowed his eyes at the man, clearly irritated.

"But Detective Fallon! That was when you were dancing with her. When I came over here, she was all alone," Seth blinked, trying to sound innocent.

"But Mr. Holland! I honestly don't care. Go away. She's mine." Mal gestured for Seth to 'shoo.'

"No, you may not cut in," Seth stuck his nose up in the air.

"I didn't ask to cut in. I told you to go away. Now move," Mal stated.

"Then no."

Mal scowled, furrowing his eyebrows. He looked down at the light purplish liquid in his hands as an evil idea came into his mind. He smirked mischievously, then 'accidently' threw his drink all over Seth's new white suit, being careful so it wouldn't spill on Natara's dress. Mal's face rearranged into fake horror.

"Oh crap! I'm so clumsy!" he exclaimed as he stepped in between Natara and Seth, making Natara back up about a foot away.

"My suit!" Seth yelped.

"I'm so sorry!" Mal cried in fake horror, before turning around, grabbing Natara's arm, and dragging her to the other side of the room.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Mal whispered to Natara under his breath, before Seth could follow them.

"Here, take this," he handed Natara's drink to a random stranger before resuming his running across the room, Natara in tow.

As soon as they got far enough, Mal turned around, facing Natara and pulled her close, pressing every inch of her against him. Natara gasped at the sudden closeness while Mal just resumed dancing like before.

Natara looked up at him in amusement. "What was that?"

Mal shrugged. "He annoys the hell outta me…"

"Oh…."

"Yeah." He raised an eyebrow slightly. "So, what happened to '_Oh, I'm not going to dance with him. I'd rather dance with you_!' huh?"

"He grabbed me and wouldn't take no for an answer…"

Mal gulped, eyes worried.

"But I'm glad that you came over there when you did!" she added, smiling brightly, trying to convince him.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine… I believe you."

She smiled a little. "Thank you."

"But if he ever touches you like that again, I want you to blow some little rape whistle and I'll come running over there to knock him out," he said, only half joking.

She giggled. "Thanks Mal…"

"Anytime."

They danced for a few minutes; foreheads leaned against the others', staring intently into each other's eyes.

Suddenly, the elderly man from earlier (_A/N: Who had talked to Natara at the beginning of the story)_ came up beside them, holding his hand out.

"Is it my turn to interrupt now?" he asked, laughing. Mal smiled at the old man and stepped away from Natara.

"Of course. What goes around, comes around," he nodded towards the two and walked away, going to stand at an empty place where he could watch Natara until he could dance with her once again.

Meanwhile, Kai and Amy were staying true to Kai's earlier words… They were stuffing their faces with fruitcake.

"Okay, this is the last time! First that gets to 10 pieces wins!" Kai exclaimed.

Amy groaned loudly. "Five!"

"No, ten!"

"Kai, we've done the same eating contest 3 times in a row each with 10 pieces! I'm getting full!" she complained.

"I have to beat you! Do you know how embarrassing it would be if I have to tell 'the guys' that you, a _girl, _beat me in a fruitcake eating contest?! 3 times in a row?! They'd beat me up!" he exclaimed desperately.

"Kai, I'm pretty sure that none of 'the guys' you're talking about cares that I beat you in eating fruitcake. And they'd probably beat you up just for telling them that," she rolled her eyes.

"Come on! Let a man keep his manhood, for crying out loud!" he whined, looking as if he were about to throw a temper tantrum.

"Kai…" she said, impatiently.

"I NEED MY MANHOOD, AMES!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the table for emphasis.

"Okay! Okay! We'll do ten pieces! Now calm down before everybody starts looking over here," she whispered, blushing.

"I knew one of these days I'd get you to blush," he said suggestively, winking.

Amy scowled. "Kai! You pervert!" she squeaked.

He let out a loud laugh. "I'm kidding! Just kidding, Amy! Sheesh, calm down!"

She furrowed his eyes and grabbed her fork. "Three, two, one, GO!" she said, quickly, diving into her ten pieces of fruitcake.

Kai's eyes widened. "Hey, you cheated!"

"I'm winning!" she teased.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Kai exclaimed, grabbing his fork and stuffing a whole slice in his mouth. He looked over to see Amy already on her 3rd slice. He quickly threw his fork somewhere behind him and dug in with his hands, stuffing anything that could fit in there.

As soon as Amy was on her 6thslice, Kai began to get worried. He reached over towards Amy's plate and grabbed 2 slices. He hurriedly licked both of them, then spit a chunk of his fruitcake (that was already in his mouth) on her 2 slices before placing them back down on her plate.

Her mouth popped open in disgust.

"Kai! Ewww! That is so gross!" she wrinkled her nose.

"But guess who is gonna wiiin!" he chanted.

"No way, not anymore."

Kai raised an eyebrow, stopping in the middle of his stuffing.

Amy speedily reached over on his plate, grabbed two slices, and stuffed them both in her mouth, chewing vigorously.

Kai's mouth popped open, showing Amy his chewed up food.

"Thaht's no faiwwr! Thaht's mahhh piiecesss!"

"So what? You spit on mine! And close your mouth! That's so gross!" she said, her nose wrinkling once more.

Kai rolled his eyes and leaned closer to Amy so she could get a better look at the chewed up food in his mouth.

"Heeey Amyyy. Liike sea fooood? Seeeee fooood!" he exclaimed, mouth wide open and still full of food. He laughed heartily at Amy's horrified expression.

"KAI! Ewwww! Swallow your food! You're so gross sometimes, it's unbelievable!" she mocked gagging, wrinkling her nose, but couldn't help the small giggle that came out of her mouth.

She quickly ate the 2 pieces that didn't have Kai's DNA all over them and smirked triumphantly in his direction.

"I win!"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "How?!"

"I ate all 10 pieces!"

He swallowed the lump of food in his mouth. "But you ate 2 of mine!"

"Yet, you didn't say that I had to eat _my _ten pieces," she smirked at him.

He rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Fiiiine, I guess you won… But don't tell anybody!" he warned, eyes widening.

"Of course not, Kai," she shook her head, rolling her eyes as she stood up.

He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Where are you going?!" he asked her.

"Bathroom to wash my hands and get some of this cake off of me … I look like a mess," she gestured down to her dress, before zooming off towards the bathroom.

Kai shook his head and muttered, "Girls…" before simply wiping his dirty hands on his lab coat.

"Oh, yeah. Like a boss," he flicked some imaginary dust off of her shoulder, trying to look 'cool.'

While waiting for Amy to return, he started to watch some of the other guests. His eyes roamed around for the perfect person to just stare at. Suddenly, he spotted Mal leaning against the wall.

"Malligator!" Kai exclaimed to himself. Unknown to Mal, he was standing under the doorway that held the mistletoe.

"But where is Hottie Boom Bottie?!" Kai murmured to himself noticing that she was not, in fact, smooching with Mal under the mistletoe.

Kai pushed up his glasses as his eyes roamed the crowd, finally spotting Natara dancing with another man. …An old man! He involuntarily shuddered. "Um, no. That simply will not do…"

He quickly thought of a plan and smirked. "If I want my fanfic to come true, I've got to make something happen…" He darted out of his seat and towards Natara, who was still dancing with the elderly man.

"Excuse me; can I borrow her for a second?" Kai asked the man, pointing to Natara.

"Sure," he let go of Natara's waist and walked off.

"What's up, Kai?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, wondering if she was going to have to put out some kind of fire that he had created.

"You're about to have the best moment of your life!" Kai exclaimed, too fast for Natara to hear.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing! I have to show you something…" he looked around the room for Mal. When he finally spotted the man under the mistletoe, Kai shouted, "Over there!" before grabbing Natara's hand and pulling her in Mal's direction.

Kai yelled apologies to different couples as he ran straight in the middle of them, not even bothering to go around.

"Kai, where are we going?" Natara shouted to him.

"Don't worry about it, Hottie Boom Bottie! You'll see when we get there!" he shouted back to her, laughing evilly. She sighed and allowed him to pull her. After a few seconds of running, Kai finally came to a stop, still on the dance floor, only a few steps from Mal, who seemed to be daydreaming.

"There!" Kai exclaimed.

Natara looked around for the interesting sight that Kai was talking about. "What are you talking about? I don't see anything!" she exclaimed, not seeing Mal yet.

Kai rolled his eyes and huffed. "If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself," he muttered to himself, walking behind Natara.

"Kai, seriously. I don't see anythi- Kai? Kai! Where'd you go?" she asked, not spotting him either.

Kai ignored Natara's questions and finally found his way directly behind her. "Here we go…" he mentally added in his head.

"Hey Mal! CATCH!" Kai exclaimed loudly, before firmly pushing Natara towards him. Natara let out a small squeal as she was roughly pushed.

Luckily, Mal had snapped out of his daydream and before Natara could hit the floor, he caught her in his muscular arms.

"Woah… Careful there, sweetheart. Wouldn't want you getting hurt on Christmas Eve, now would we?" he breathed, smiling down at her. She smiled in relief back at him as he set her back down on her two feet, directly under the mistletoe, but they didn't notice. They were too busy staring at the other.

Kai, however, had noticed and was now smirking. His plan was unfolding perfectly right before his eyes. He quickly cleared his throat, pointed up at the mistletoe, and yelled, "MISTLETOE!" before diving back into the crowd behind him so the couple wouldn't spot him.

Mal and Natara both looked up at the exact same time, eyes landing on the green plant tied with the traditional red ribbon. Mal gulped and looked back down at Natara to see what her expression would be like. Her head slowly rolled down until her eyes met with Mal's. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"So…Um. Mistletoe," Mal said, awkwardly.

"Yeah…" she laughed nervously, biting her lip.

"Uh. Does that mean that…we have to…?" Mal trailed off, unsure of what to say, biting his lip.

'_I wish they'd stop biting their own lips and start biting each other's lips…' _Kai thought.

"JUST KISS!" somebody from the crowd (Kai) yelled at them.

"Um… I, err. I guess so," Natara shrugged, looking uncomfortable. Mal's eyes widened.

"I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to," he explained, biting his lip.

"YES! YOU DO HAVE TO!" the same person from the crowd (Kai) yelled again.

"Well, it is a Christmas rule," she shrugged, giving in. She deliberately looked down at Mal's mouth, thinking, '_I wonder if his lips are as soft as they look.'_

'_Yeah, come on, Natara. Bite his lip for him!' Kai chanted in his head._

Mal began to lean in slowly, thinking, '_If she wants to stop me, then I'll stop. I mean, it's one kiss. One kiss won't hurt anything…right?'_

They both began to lean in slowly, never taking their eyes off of the other. Mal's eyes flickered to Natara's lips then back up again.

"If…. You don't want this… Just… Say no…" Mal whispered slowly as they slightly brushed noses.

"Can't… Break Christmas….Traditio-" Natara barely got out before Mal leaned in the rest of the way and kissed her.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt Mal's soft lips pressing against her own. His hand traveled up to cup her cheek as they stayed still, enjoying the mental fireworks going off in their minds. Natara's fingers reached up and wrapped themselves around Mal's wrist, holding him there so he couldn't move. The ends of his mouth turned up in a slight smirk. She leaned into him, trying to hold the kiss as long as possible.

They both slowly pulled away, letting their eyes open just as their lips were barely touching. Mal backed up all of the way, straightening up and taking a step back as if in a trance. He let his hands drop from Natara's cheek to his sides. They stared at each other in shock, as if trying to read the other's facial expression. Natara had her mouth slightly open from shock, eyes searching Mal's face for any signs of disappointment. Mal gulped, his eyes wide from surprise. His blue orbs stayed locked on her pink lips, never leaving them.

Suddenly he yearned to be kissing her again…So that's just what he did. Without missing a beat, he quickly took a step towards her and leaned back in, capturing her lips with his. He grabbed her face, kissing her desperately. Passionately. Deeper this time. He managed to kiss her a few times before she got over the shock of it all and began to kiss back, hungrily. Using his other arm, he wrapped it around her slim waist and pulled her even closer to him, giving him better access. Natara's hands reached up to tangle in Mal's hair, messing it up.

Completely forgetting that they were in public, Natara pushed Mal against the wall, instantly following him and letting their lips reattach themselves. She put her hands on either side of his face while his placed themselves on the small of her back, trying to pull her even closer than she already was. She roughly nipped at his bottom lip, asking for entrance. He gladly opened and let her explore his mouth. Her tongue danced around inside, dashing everywhere. Mal smiled in the kiss as their tongues fought for dominance, even though she was easily winning. Her hands then moved to his chest, thumbs letting themselves run over his abdomen, slightly feeling the ripped muscles underneath the suit. He groaned lowly as his hands came up to tangle themselves in her silky hair.

Mal pulled away for a second, inhaling deeply. "Nat," he whispered huskily, giving her a lustful stare. She silenced him by kissing him once more. He quieted down immediately and kissed her back, lips molding just perfectly together.

Over on the other side of the dance floor, Jeremy nudged Blaise.

"Yeah?" she asked, lifting her head off of his shoulder.

"Look over there," he nodded towards the couple having 'fun' against the wall.

"Well, would you look at that!" Blaise exclaimed, face lighting up.

"It's a Christmas miracle…" Jeremy muttered.

Blaise smiled genuinely. "Well, good for him. He finally got his girl."

"Yep…" Jeremy said, not sure of what else to say.

Blaise fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Oh, come here, Redbird," she ordered, before grabbing his face and pressing her lips against his roughly.

After a few more moments of making out, Natara suddenly pulled away, chest heaving, a horrified expression on her face. Mal's eyebrows knit together in confusion as he watched her pull away.

"What's wrong?" Mal asked, still up against the wall, trying to regain his breathing. Natara looked back at him, eyes wide and her mouth popped open.

'_I just kissed Mal… I just made out with my partner…In front of everybody. What is wrong with me?!' _she thought.

"Mal, we…We can't! We can't do this! It's not right!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"It's not?" Mal's face rearranged into hurt.

"No, it's not! We can't be doing this! We're partners for Christ's sake! P…Partners aren't supposed to be kissing!"

"But… But, Nat. We're more than partners. Way more," he tried to convince her, pain evident in his blue orbs.

"Exactly! All the more reason why we shouldn't be doing this! We're best friends! Best friends don't make out either!"

"But-"

"We could lose our jobs over this, Mal… It could break off our friendship. It could break us apart!"

"But….but, Nat," he whimpered pathetically, not able to think of anything else to say.

"Mal, I'm sorry, but… It's for the best," she said, before turning around and running towards the exit.

Mal reached out to grab her hand, trying to stop her and make her see differently of the situation, but it closed on air. He looked up with hurt-filled eyes as he watched her run through the station, getting closer and closer to the door.

"Wait…Nat," he murmured, hoping that she would turn around. But she didn't. She reached the door and ran outside. Mal quickly ran across the station towards the door in hopes of finding her and making her see differently.

'_I can't let her leave here!' _Mal thought to himself, sprinting as fast as he could go.

"Hey, Mal. Merry Christmas!" Joe called out as he ran by him.

"Uh, you too, man," he called before resuming sprinting.

Anna Willis stopped Mal, just as he was about to zoom by her.

"Hey, Mal. I've gotta ask you something," she said.

"Just a minute, Anna," he replied, before taking off running again.

As soon as he got outside, he looked around for the familiar woman heading towards the familiar car. Finally he spotted them…Driving down the street, already gone.

"Shit!" Mal cursed loudly. He pulled his hair for a second, looked at the car zooming away, then sadly trudged back inside.

Amy's eyes searched the crowd as she tried to find Kai. He wasn't where she had left him because… Well… Everyone knew he had a short attention span.

"Kai! Kai?!" she chirped, hoping to find him faster, but to no avail.

Suddenly, she saw him trying to blend in with the crowd (which was kind of impossible when you're the only one wearing a lab coat.) She giggled and headed over towards him, an amused expression on her face.

"Tag, you're it!" she joked, poking him in his side when she got close enough. He let out a high, girl-ish shriek at being tickled.

"Oh, Amy… It's just you," he sighed in relief.

"Who'd you think it was? The Boogeyman?" she asked, giggling.

"Hey, you never know!" he exclaimed.

"So, what have you been doing, Kai?" she asked.

Kai slung an arm around her shoulder, leading her towards the food tables.

"Creating love, Amycakes… Creating love," he sighed, dreamily.

She raised an eyebrow at him. He laughed at her confused expression.

"I'll tell ya over some fruitcake."

Natara sat in her apartment on the couch, biting her nails and thinking over the events that had happened that night.

'_Did I do the right thing? I mean, sure, the kiss felt nice. His lips were so smooth and his hair was so soft and he tasted like- No, Natara! You should not be thinking these things! He's your best friend! ….But he does have amazingly soft lips.' _She pondered, chewing her lip viciously.

'_Ugh,' _she sighed, putting her face in her hands, tiredly. '_I don't know what else to do… Why does my life have to be so difficult?'_

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

She sat up, yawning, wondering who would be at her door so late on Christmas Eve. She slowly opened the door to reveal the man in question.

Mal was standing in the doorway with a '_Forgive me?_' expression on his face while holding two bags of what smelled like Chinese food.

Natara sighed. "Mal, this isn't a good time."

"Come on, Nat. I brought your favorite… You know you can't resist Chineeeeessssseee!" he teased, waving the bag in front of her face, letting her get a strong whiff of it.

"Mal-" she started, but was interrupted by her stomach loudly growling.

Mal grinned widely. "I'll take that as a yes," he nodded before walking into her apartment.

"Fine. But only because you brought Chinese… no other reason," she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.

He shook his head innocently. "Of course not."

She rolled her eyes.

"Dining room or the kitchen island?" she asked, eyebrows raised, waiting for his answer.

"Uh, I thought we could do it like old times…You know," his eyes shifted up towards the ceiling. "Up there," he finished.

"You want to eat dinner on the ceiling? What are you, Spider-Man?" she teased, raising an eyebrow.

"No," he said, rolling his eyes. "On the roof."

"Alright then." She said, grabbing two beers from her fridge.

"Meet me up on the roof, then."

***Twenty minutes later***

After Mal and Natara had eaten their Chinese on the roof, they laid back on blankets, talking about everything, laughing, and gazing at the starry sky.

"So Blaise tells me that Seth is a '_I don't take no for an answer' _type of guy so I know that I have to go over there to save your butt, because you're too nice to tell him to back off. Anyways, when I do finally ask you to dance, Seth's face is priceless! He looks exactly like a 4-year old who just got told that they can't ride the ponies because they're not tall enough," Mal explained.

"And then one time, Neha and I were on our way to the mall, when a giant deer just leapt out in front of us!"

"So imagine this. It's Ken, me, Bartaugh, and Anna Willis all handcuffed… to one chair!"

""Well, one day, my father decided that he was going to lie and say that he had sold the company to a less fortunate company…"

"I'm telling you…It was a spider the size of my head…"

"And then Oscar started pouting the whole way home because they didn't have any snails to eat at the restaurant…" she rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose.

"You know, once upon a long time ago, we used to be buddies… That is, of course, until I stole his girl…"

"He swung his fist at me, but totally missed and ended up knocking his colleague out!" were a few of their conversations throughout the night.

It was silent for several minutes before Natara broke it.

"So….Um. About what happened before I left…" she brought up, awkwardly.

"What about it?" he asked, tilting his head towards her where he could look into her eyes.

"Well, um. What… Just… What happened?" she asked, breaking eye contact with him by looking up at the sky.

"Well. I guess we both just. Err, I guess we both just got caught up in the moment," he shrugged.

"How?"

"Well, there was the mistletoe, the dancing, the slight alcohol in our systems, the adrenaline from running from Seth… I guess we just both needed to let out our pent-up emotions and that's just how we decided to do so." Mal made up on the spot.

"Oh," Natara nodded.

"Yeah…" Mal agreed.

"Do you…Ever think that it's going to happen again?"

"…I don't know, Nat. I guess it could if you wanted it to."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

They both sat up, propping themselves up on their elbows.

"Did… Did you like it?" she asked, quietly, looking at the ground.

"What?" he asked.

"Did you like it?"

"Like what?"

"The kiss."

"Oh…Uh, I…I dunno. Did you?" They looked deeply into each other's eyes. They hadn't realized how close they were sitting until now. Mal's eyes flickered down to Natara's lips, yearning for them to be with his once again.

"Yeah… I guess I kind of did." She admitted, nodding.

"Yeah, it was nice." Mal nodded.

"…"

"..."

"…"

"…Wanna do it again?" he asked, hopefully.

"More than anything," she nodded. They locked eyes with each other before kissing passionately.

Their hands were everywhere as they grabbed each other desperately, never wanting to let go. Their lips molded together over and over again. Her hands raked through his hair, feeling the dark brown softness. His hands were on her waist, pulling her impossibly closer to him.

Mal pulled away for a second to mumble, "God, I love you, Natara." She brought his lips back to hers, not wanting to take a break. Mal pulled away long enough to say, "I love you so much," before he devoured her lips with his own.

Natara pulled away. "I love you too, Mal." Mal smiled brightly at her before kissing her again. He gently bit her bottom lip, asking for entrance.

She eagerly opened her mouth as wide as it could go, granting Mal access. His tongue slid right in, exploring every inch of her mouth. Both of their tongues danced with each other, fighting for dominance. This time though, Mal had the upper advantage. They kissed for several more long moments before they both ran out of breath and broke away, panting.

"So… Nat?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

He grinned brightly. "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

She giggled before saying, "I dunno….Seth Holland is quite the catch."

Mal gave her a blank stare before saying, "Too bad. I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Good, that's what I like in men," she winked.

Mal scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I wish I had known that sooner."

She just giggled in response.

"So…Will you?" he asked, hopefully.

"Of course," she said, pecking him on his lips for a second.

"Awesome," he grinned brightly.

She chuckled and leaned the back of her head against Mal's chest, looking up at the sky.

He gently kissed her hair before saying, "I can't imagine a better Christmas present than this one."

"Which one?" she asked.

"You…" he replied, before smiling again and kissing her for a long moment on her lips.

"You know, I wasn't kidding when I said that all I wanted for Christmas is you."

She giggled. "Suuure you weren't."

"I wasn't! You _are _the best Christmas gift anyone could ever have." He murmured.

"No, I'm not…"

"Yes you are and you better believe it, too."

She smiled sweetly. "You know what? Who cares if we lose our jobs… I love you and I'm not going to hide it."

He grinned back. "Me neither."

It was silent for a few moments before Natara interrupted it.

"Hey Mal?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"All _I _want for Christmas is _you_."

"That's my line!"

She gave him a blank stare.

He rolled his eyes playfully.

"Same to you, Nat. Same to you…"

_**The End**_


End file.
